


Vagabond No Longer

by Sillus



Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Aftermath of Possession, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood and Violence, Character Study, Fluff, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Major Character Injury, Mental Instability, Oops I Lied, Possession, Psychological Trauma, READ THE NOTES PLEASE THANK YOU, Recovery, and not in a blood and violence kind of way, and when I say dark, because it’s a twist, but i put mature for a reason, but please heed my warning, i am not responsible if you cannot handle the content im warning you about, i don’t want to outright say what makes this fic mature, i mean VERY VERY DARK, im sure im making it out to be worse than it actually is, kiddos this fic isn’t for you, oh boy, or at least its going to be, still psychologically dark, this fic is dark, we’re just not there yet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-13
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:01:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 43,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21786418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sillus/pseuds/Sillus
Summary: Legend finds that he wants to get to know him better; to discover who Hyrule is and why he acts this way. Why is he so quiet all the time? Why does he avoid other people like the plague? Why is he only ever relaxed when Legend is in his vicinity? None of this is natural, and Legend can see it in the way his eyes dart around, how stiff his movements are, how he opens his mouth to speak but no words come out.Who is Hyrule, and what happened to him?
Relationships: Hyrule (Linked Universe) & Legend (Linked Universe), Hyrule (Linked Universe) & Wild (Linked Universe), Legend (Linked Universe) & Warriors (Linked Universe)
Comments: 212
Kudos: 608





	1. A Sneaking Suspicion

**Author's Note:**

> So I wanted to get this done before I left for vacation—which is about 8-9 hours from now—but that didn’t happen due to a lot of BS in my life.  
> But!  
> I wasn’t about to leave you nerds hanging.  
> I’m really excited for this fic. It’s been in the making for a LONG time now, but I have a few things I’d like to talk about first.  
> 1) This particular chapter is going to undergo editing when I’m finished with the rest of this fic. Some of the editing may change entire scenes, or it may just be a couple things like what a specific character says or thinks. Either way, please note that not everything here is permanent.  
> EDIT: Updated! Added/changed some minor things. Nothing too serious.  
> 2) I don’t think this fanfiction is extreme yet, but as stated in the tags, this will get DARK—and not in a blood and violence way. This is a character study, and it has to do a lot with the state of the mind. If you are uncomfortable with the state of mind combined with a dark fic, I advise you not to read. Please heed this warning.  
> I hope you enjoy!  
> And a SPECIAL THANKS to the nerds I had read this beforehand and give me tips and feedback. I love you all!

When Legend first met Hyrule, the kid was skin and bone, and as skittish as a stray cat. He was friendly—Legend would be convinced the phrase “heart of gold” was coined after him if not for obvious reasons revolving around time shenanigans—but he was also wary and distrustful.

So naturally, Legend took to him immediately. Especially when seven other heroes joined them soon after that came from completely different time periods. He knows Hyrule is more than capable of handling himself—even if the kid doesn’t think so—but the Hero’s Spirit within him demands that he does his job as the Hero of Legend and keep his new companion safe.

Unfortunately—in his opinion at least—Hyrule isn’t the only one on the receiving end of Legend’s protective side. In fact, nobody in their rag-tag group of idiots _isn’t_ on the receiving end of Legend’s protective side.

He is not pleased with this outcome. Especially given how _quickly_ it happened.

But, Legend begrudgingly accepts that he screwed up and is now stuck with these other versions of himself for who knows how long all while he actually _likes_ them.

This can only end badly. It always does.

But as of right now, Legend decides to go ahead and enjoy himself. He banters with Warriors, and he humors Wind. He keeps an eye on their backs, and he makes sure to patch them up when needed. He becomes a trusted ally, but he keeps himself just distant enough to stay professional. He might be protective, but they are merely allies in the same war, and nothing more.

…

…He’s not fooling anyone. Not even himself.

And he knows, because he starts noticing things about each of them; things he wouldn’t notice unless he specifically paid attention—which only serves to deepen the hole he’s already in. He notices that Time tends to linger at the back of the group when they’re traveling, the few times he takes the lead are when they’re stranded in his own time period. Warriors might act like an idiot, but it’s all a front to keep moral up while he silently checks up on each and every one of them. Twilight tends to hang around the younger heroes, playing the role of Asshole Big Brother—also known as the Biggest Piece of Shit. Sky has a sixth sense when it comes to nightmares, waking up without fail whenever someone looks disturbed in their sleep and giving them the comfort they need—and Legend has both been on the receiving side of this and has witnessed this happening more than he’d like to admit.

Wind does something similar, always sliding up beside someone looking down and telling them some wacky tale that he claims to be one hundred percent true—Legend isn’t so sure the one about the pots that teleport you through a shipwreck maze is true, but it’s entirely possible. Four is always going over everyone’s weapons and items, repairing them when needed—and replacing Wild’s swords when necessary—and Legend has to admit, the guy is fantastic at making their weapons and items way better than they were before they got damaged. Wild takes pictures, and he’s _damn good_ at capturing them in the heat of the moment, and half the time, Legend has no idea Wild even took a picture until he’s plopping down beside him in the evening and showing him the photos on his slate.

And then there’s Hyrule.

As stated previously, Hyrule is incredibly skittish. While friendly and somewhat easy to approach, Hyrule has a very awkward air to him that sticks out to Legend. When in a conversation, the kid will duck his head, twiddle his thumbs, and end the conversation as quickly as possible. It doesn’t help that he rarely talks, and when he does, his voice is incredibly quiet and he never uses it for long. And yet somehow, everyone—himself included—can read Hyrule like an open book by the expressions on his face alone. While he’s not verbally communicating with them a lot of the time, Legend knows exactly how Hyrule is feeling with a simple glance at him.

But it’s… odd. Legend himself used to be a shy, awkward kid, but he was never _this_ quiet. Wild isn’t exactly the talkative type either, but he’s shown that he can get excessively loud when he’s riled up enough—and he’s petty as all hell, too, as Legend’s tongue still stings at the thought of Goron Spice.

There’s a difference between being the quiet type and being quiet at all times. A closer look at Hyrule tells Legend that he is not just trying to be quiet, he is trying to be _invisible._

He can’t help but wonder what caused him to be this way. Hyrule might be expressive, but when it comes to his past and his adventures, Hyrule has a _very_ tight lid on everything—enough to rival Legend.

Legend finds that he wants to get to know him better; to discover _who_ Hyrule is and why he acts this way. Why is he so quiet all the time? Why does he avoid other people like the plague? Why is he only ever relaxed when Legend is in his vicinity? None of this is natural, and Legend can see it in the way his eyes dart around, how stiff his movements are, how he opens his mouth to speak but no words come out.

Who is Hyrule, and what happened to him?

* * *

Legend stabs his sword into another bokoblin, grimacing when blood spurts out and stains his tunic. That’s gonna be a _pain_ to get out later. His tunic is already ripped up, and now there’s blood staining it? This _sucks!_

He quickly puts the bokoblin out of its misery, kicking the body off his blade and spinning around to find the next one. He spots Hyrule deflecting a club with his sword and ending his foe with a quick and efficient stab of his own, the monster crumbling to the ground and Hyrule stepping away from it with a slightly disgusted look on his face. Another runs up to him, and Hyrule ducks under its swing and finishes it off with a clean slice.

The fight drags on a little longer, bokoblins leaping at them with clubs raised high, only to have their lives taken by him and his companions. They’ve fought far worse on their regular adventures than a couple of bokoblins, after all.

In fact, the hardest part of the battle is the landscape. They’re stuck in a thicket, thorns ripping through the fabric of their tunics and leaving them stuck on the branches. It’s more annoying than dangerous, but since Legend is pretty sure he’s the only one who knows how to sew… _well_.

He’s thankful Time mostly wears armor.

“That looks like the last of them!” Legend hears Twilight call. He takes an extra look around just in case, but when he doesn’t see any other red fuckers trying to swing a stick at him, he relaxes and works on pulling himself free from all the thorns.

“Stupid damn plants,” he mutters under his breath as he picks at them. He pricks his finger on one as he pries the stubborn little shits off his clothes, leaving his tunic tattered and worn. It doesn’t help that blood is staining it. He must look like a rat or something.

He glances up to see Wind pouting at his own ripped clothes, Time helping Warriors carefully extract his scarf from the plant’s hold, and Hyrule staring at him with wide eyes.

Legend pauses on him. Hyrule looks… _scared_. Even though he’s a fair distance away, Legend can see his hands shaking, the glimmer of fear in his eyes, his suddenly pale skin.

Legend whips around with his sword drawn, thinking there _was_ another enemy that decided to sneak up on him, but there was nothing there but a confused Sky. But when he turns back around, he sees Hyrule fighting his way through the thicket towards him, breaths ragged and movements jittery.

“Hyrule?” Legend asks as the kid bursts free from the thorny plants and _charges_ him. Legend scrambles to move out of his way, but Hyrule is upon him in a flash, fingers catching his tunic in a vice-like grip. He tries to pry him off, spluttering in confusion at the sudden attention, but Hyrule’s grip is strong, holding Legend in place with little difficulty.

“You’re bleeding,” He hears Hyrule mumble, sheer panic clear in not only his voice, but his trembling arms and frantic movements. “You’re bleeding, you’re hurt…”

“What’re you—“ Legend goes to yell before he stops himself. Hyrule isn’t looking at him, but at his _tunic_ —which is not only ripped to shreds by the thorns, but also covered in blood from the bokoblins.

_Oh._

“Hyrule,” Legend soothes as best as he can, hands clasping Hyrule’s shoulders as he continues to search for a wound that isn’t there. “It’s not mine. I’m okay.”

Hyrule isn’t listening, still mumbling under his breath. His hands scrabble at his tunic, shaking so badly they can barely hold him in place anymore. Legend doesn’t pull away, instead reaching down to grab Hyrule’s wrists.

“Hey!” He pushes the hands away from him, ducking down to catch Hyrule’s eye. Hyrule startles badly at the motions, eyes clouded with fear. “I’m not hurt,” Legend says, giving their hands a little shake for emphasis. “It’s not my blood, and the thorns on the plants ripped my tunic up.”

Hyrule stares at him, not comprehending his words as he tries to twist out of Legend’s hold.

“Relax, ‘Rule,” Legend chastises, getting a little exasperated. He knows he shouldn’t be, but what has Hyrule so freaked out? He’s _had_ to have seen a little blood on his journeys, so why is he so scared? Out of everyone here, Hyrule seems to be the closest to him—and vice versa on Legend’s part, but he’ll never admit it—so he can see why he would be worried, but this is pure, unadulterated _panic_. Even if Legend _was_ hurt, there’s not a lot of blood on his clothes to warrant this kind of reaction.

So what gives?

Hyrule blinks, and Legend can see the fear ebb away as he stops trying to inspect him. He opens his mouth, closes it, then turns _bright red._

As soon as Legend lets go of his wrists, Hyrule springs away as if he’s been burned, stuttering out a plethora of jumbled words in a tiny voice as he hunches his shoulders and ducks his head. Legend stares, bewildered at the sudden change in Hyrule’s mood. He went from sheer panic to beyond embarrassed so quickly, Legend thinks he might have whiplash.

“…a-and I w-wasn’t thinking and I d-didn’t mean to startle you o-or any—anything and…” Hyrule fumbles for more words to blurt out, hands waving sporadically. After a moment, he stills, staring at his feet and clutching his arms. “I’m sorry,” he mumbles.

Legend surprises both Hyrule and himself by _laughing_. Hyrule’s face turns even _more_ red at the sound, and he’s flushed all the way to the tips of his ears as Legend saunters over.

“ _Relax_ ,” he says again, bumping their shoulders together. Hyrule looks like he needs the reassurance, but he’s not big on touch, which is great for Legend because he’s not big on touch either. “It’s not a big deal.”

Hyrule mutters something but doesn’t pull away, nor does he meet Legend’s eyes. Legend hums an inquiry, and Hyrule hunches in on himself even more.

“I shouldn’t freak out like that though,” he mutters, slightly louder this time so Legend can actually understand him.

Legend raises an eyebrow. “Why not?”

He splutters, finally looking up at him. “B-because I’m a hero! I can’t just… I shouldn’t…

Oh, _that_ nonsense? Legend rolls his eyes, raising a hand to clasp Hyrule’s shoulder and leveling him with a stern—but gentle—look.

“You’re a person before you’re a hero.”

Hyrule opens his mouth to say something, but nothing comes out. Legend pats his shoulder with a grin, then walks away, making a beeline for Warriors and Time. He’ll just let that sink in for a bit. It will take a while for someone like Hyrule to fully understand, but Legend has been there many times himself, and he’s not about to stand by and let Hyrule struggle through _that_ kind of battle by himself—especially if he can lend the kid a hand and some words of advice.

Meanwhile, Hyrule gapes after Legend’s retreating form.

_You’re a person before you’re a hero_.

It makes so much sense. Hyrule was barely anything of significance before his first journey. After he became renowned for being a hero, suddenly he was someone different, someone _new_. People gave him the time of day, but monsters also took a little too much interest in him for his liking.

He had a façade to keep up back home. People looked to him for help, guidance, _safety_. He was the only one who could give them that—except maybe the royal family and their guards.

Hyrule is a person too.

_I curse you and your blood, boy, to forever bear my hatred within!_

But he can never be a person again.

* * *

“What’s wrong?” Hyrule demands, coming to a stop beside Warriors and Wild with Legend hot on his heels. Wild groans in reply, face contorted into a look of pain while Warriors glares at him in… exasperation?

“The wild child over here decided to climb a tree to get some eggs. Not only did he fall and break his leg, but he also already has _fifty-three eggs!_ ”

“You fucking _what?_ ” Legend snaps, giving Wild a glare of his own as Hyrule kneels next to him.

“They were right there,” Wild bites out. ”I wanted to get them…”

“Listen, Wild,” Legend begins as Hyrule holds his hands over Wild’s leg, “I’m a greedy bastard and I hoard everything I get my hands on, but you’re just being excessive.”

“I have to pick up _everything_ ,” Wild whines.

Legend nods sagely, which looks absolutely ridiculous because he is still pissed. “I understand that, but you have to draw a line somewhere!”

“Hold still,” Hyrule murmurs, and Wild stops wriggling from his place on the ground. “I can help, I just need to set your leg.”

“No offense Hyrule,” Warriors says, “but what exactly are you going to do?”

“This is nothing a potion and a little rest can’t fix,” Legend adds, already digging through his bag for one of the concoctions.

“Don’t waste a potion on something so trivial,” Hyrule responds as he focuses on the flow of energy within. He’s oblivious to the look exchanged between Warriors and Legend.

“Trivial?” Wild mutters, and Hyrule fights the urge to cringe away at the disbelieving tone. Ever since their little spat about that young lady when they first met, Hyrule and Wild haven’t exactly been… friends? There’s no ill will between them, but they’re a little awkward around each other.

Hyrule steels himself. He’s healed far worse than a broken leg before. This shouldn’t be too bad, but it’ll be weird using his magic on someone else for once. He positions Wild’s leg properly, murmuring apologies to him when he lets out a pained noise, then concentrates.

_What were the words again?_

Hyrule closes his eyes, magic humming at his fingertips. With a voice as quiet as he can manage, he chants the incantation as he presses his hands against Wild’s awkwardly bent leg. He hears Wild grunt, but he pays it no mind, instead focusing on not screwing the words up. The magic flows from his hands to Wild’s leg, white tendrils of light circling around him as Hyrule sings.

The energy within rapidly depletes as usual, but when Hyrule cracks open an eye, he sees Wild’s leg healing just as quickly. Encouraged, Hyrule keeps quietly chanting the words to the spell, all too aware of the three sets of eyes staring at him. It’s only when his senses start to get fuzzy does a hand clap down on his shoulder, breaking his concentration and causing the magic to halt.

“That’s enough,” Legend scolds as Warriors kneels beside Wild to examine his work.

“Wha…?” Hyrule replies, incredibly groggy and convinced Legend was speaking another language. He shakes his head, raising a hand to slap his cheek. He needs to _focus_. He can sleep off the weariness later.

“Wild, how does your leg feel?” Warriors asks, helping him sit up. Hyrule watches as Wild experimentally bends his leg with no signs of pain.

“It feels perfectly fine!” He chirps.

“Really?” Warriors presses. “Nothing?”

“Nothing!”

“Not even if I poke it?”

“Not even if you poke it.”

Warriors nods, satisfied with his impromptu interrogation. “If that’s the case, then we’re good to return to camp after one more thing.”

He rounds on Hyrule, who immediately throws his hands up in surrender. “How long have you been able to do that?”

Hyrule blinks and slowly lowers his hands, more confused than startled by the sudden question. “A couple years?”

“ _Years?_ ” Warriors gawks. “You’ve been able to use magic for years?”

“Is that weird?” Hyrule asks in a tiny voice.

“ _Is that weird,_ he asks?” Warriors throws his arms up. “Of _course_ that’s weird!”

“But _really cool!_ ” Wild scurries to move in front of Hyrule, grabbing his hands and peering at them in scrutiny. Hyrule freezes in his hold, mind going blank at the touch and piercing gaze. _Why is he touching me? What’s so interesting about my hands? Everyone uses magic, so what makes me stand out?_

“Uh,” Hyrule swallows around the lump in his throat as he attempts to string together _some_ kind of coherent sentence. “Why is that weird? Don’t we all use magic?”

“Yeah,” Legend replies, eyeing his and Wild’s hands. “Magic _items_. You just used magic without anything.” Legend’s eyes flick up to meet Hyrule’s. “Unless I’m wrong?”

Hyrule looks away, ducking his head. “N-no, you’re not, it’s just…” he tugs against Wild’s hold, and he’s surprised when Wild immediately lets go. “Can’t Wild use magic?”

Wild shakes his head, furrowing his eyebrows. “No, I can’t. What gave you that idea?”

Hyrule frowns. “You summon bombs from thin air!”

Warriors barks out a laugh. “Oh, Hyrule, that’s the… uh… what’s it called? The Chuppa-Thingy?”

Wild glares at him. “It’s called the _Sheikah Slate._ Where did you get “Chuppa-Thingy” from?”

Warriors waves a hand. “Not important. Anyway, that’s not magic.”

“As far as I know, we all need items to use magic,” Legend adds. “Except you.”

“How does it work?” Wild asks, getting an eager gleam in his eyes that makes Hyrule want to hide behind someone or something. He entertains the idea of using Legend as a shield, but then realizes that Legend is probably just as curious. “Does your singing have to do with it?”

“Singing?” Legend asks.

_Oh no._ Hyrule stiffens, embarrassment coiling in his chest. He had been _so careful_ about keeping his voice low. It was hardly a whisper, just enough for the spell to work, and Wild heard it? How?

Wild grins at his stupor, pointing at one of his ears. “I hear everything.”

That’s right. If anyone can hear anything, it’s Wild, who spends the majority of his time wandering through nature, who’s world is deathly silent more often than not after so much destruction. Hyrule tries to will the oncoming blush away at being caught red-handed, and he fails _spectacularly_.

“You sing to use your magic?” Legend inquires, a smile slowly spreading across his face.

Warriors smirks. “I know magic is connected to music and all, but I didn’t think you had that ability as well. And with nothing but your voice?”

“You have to teach me!” Wild exclaims, and Hyrule shrinks away from all the attention, spluttering and stammering as his words fail him.

“Absolutely not!” Warriors yells, turning to glare at Wild. “That’s the _last_ thing you need!”

“Don’t give me that!” Wild retorts playfully. “You know you wanna learn too!”

“I didn’t say _I_ didn’t want to learn; I’m saying that _you_ don’t need to learn! You’ll kill us all!”

“I will _not_!”

“Yes you will! You’re _crazy!_ ”

Legend prods Hyrule’s shoulder, getting his attention. He jabs a thumb over his shoulder in a silent question, a mischievous smirk on his face. Hyrule takes one look at the squabbling pair then nods at Legend with a tiny shrug, mirroring his smirk.

They make it halfway back to camp before Wild and Warriors catch up, Wild taking it upon himself to _tackle_ Hyrule to the ground with a cry. Hyrule’s instincts flare up at the pressure of someone on top of him. Someone _heavy, and bigger than him, and if they have a weapon he’s **screwed!**_ He twists to get his back against ground and raises a leg to kick Wild away, but before he can really get into his _fight or flight_ mode, he realizes that Wild is merely lying on top of him, giggling up a storm.

“Your face!” He laughs. “You should have seen your face!” His eyes are squeezed shut, a wide grin on his face. His arms are limp from their places on Hyrule’s shoulders. He is only halfway sprawled on top of Hyrule, and while that would normally freak him out, Wild’s laughter and lax body makes him calm down. There is nothing aggressive about him. He’s not trying to rip his throat out, he’s not trying to stick a dagger through his heart, he’s simply being _Wild_.

“Don’t _do_ that!” Hyrule exclaims, going limp and letting his head thump against the ground. Wild laughs harder, and he can hear Warriors and Legend chuckling from above. On one hand, he’s glad he’s gotten comfortable enough with the group to _not_ instinctively elbow anyone in the face when they surprise him. But on the other hand, he didn’t even hear Wild coming. That’s… _dangerous._

“Alright, come on you two,” Warriors chides, hauling Wild off of him. Wild reaches down with an outstretched hand, a friendly gleam in his eyes. When Hyrule takes it, he’s _yanked_ to his feet, and before he can properly reorient himself, Wild is linking their arms together and dragging Hyrule along as he marches them back to camp.

“Hey!” Warriors yells after them. “Get back here! I’m not gonna let you parade around with all those leaves in your hair!”

Wild breaks out into a run and Hyrule stumbles after him with a yelp, the tugging on his arm now turning into a persistent pull. “Come on!” Wild chirps over his shoulder. “I’m not about to be subjected to Warriors’s preening again!”

Hyrule recalls the last time that happened, and internally winces at the thought of _that_ happening to him. Warriors cares far too much about physical appearance, and he clearly remembers Wild being grumpy and put off when Warriors ripped several locks of hair out of his head while trying to untangle it from a branch. No thanks. He happens to like his hair!

So Hyrule runs, Wild’s infectious laughter making him smile wide, a laugh of his own escaping him as they weave through the trees and bushes. Hyrule has no idea where they are going, and he’s pretty sure Wild doesn’t either, but that’s nothing new for either of them. They seem to be the only two with a sense of adventure, and Hyrule finds that he is glad Wild has suddenly taken to him—especially since Hyrule had felt so awkward and nervous around him before.

Meanwhile, Legend snickers as Warriors swears up a storm. “You’re not going to find them,” he says.

“Yes I will.”

“No you won’t. They’re the survivalists. Getting lost is in their nature. You’re not going to find them.”

Warriors lets out a loud and frustrated groan. “Then I’ll just ambush them when they inevitably come back to camp!”

“Bold of you to assume they _will_ come back tonight. They’re the _survivalists_.”

“Legend, let me have this.”

Legend rolls his eyes with a smirk, falling into step beside Warriors as they give up their fleeting search and make their way back to camp. If worse comes to worse, they can always have the wolf look for them. That wolf always seems to know when something is amiss.

Besides, there is nothing malicious about these woods, and Hyrule and Wild are actually comfortable for once. In the short time they have all been together, those two have always been the shy ones of their companions—though Wild is far more impulsive and rowdy in a smaller group. It’s nice to see them loosen up a bit.

Legend bites back a sigh. He has to remember that they are all going to leave each other when this quest is over. He shouldn’t bother with attachments.

But then his mind flashes back to the look of pure panic on Hyrule’s face when Wild tackled him, and he knows he can’t just sit idly by. That look was much too similar to the one Hyrule had when he thought Legend was bleeding from a bad wound. He wasn’t just startled, he was terrified.

_Why was he so scared?_

Later that night, when Warriors is berating Wild and Hyrule for not only running off into the forest to who-knows-where but also for getting so _dirty_ , Wild catches Legend’s eye and jerks his head ever so slightly at Hyrule, one eyebrow raised to convey his worry and confusion. It seems Legend isn’t the only one who’s noticed how odd Hyrule’s behavior is.

They don’t get a chance to talk. Warriors spends _hours_ combing through their hair and picking out every speck of dirt he comes across. Hyrule and Wild complain about headaches and hair loss for the rest of the night before they all turn in.

* * *

It’s a cool, quiet evening in the mountains. Legend pads around the campsite they have set up, footsteps silent on the stone ground as he watches over his sleeping companions.

It’s nights like these that have him on edge. Quiet nights rarely stay quiet, and Legend has been caught unawares too many times to chalk this one up to being coincidental. They have no idea where they are, and it can get bitterly cold in the mountains. If that had been the case tonight, they would have been far worse off because on top of everything, they found no suitable place for a campsite, leaving them exposed to whatever is hiding in the night. At least Twilight is taking this shift with him.

And his instincts were right, something _was_ going to happen, but not what Legend would have expected.

It’s not uncommon for them to get nightmares. Hylia _knows_ they have been through far too much, but he would have never known Hyrule was having a nightmare had the kid not sat up. He has a haunted look on his face, hands shaking from their places in his lap. He stares at nothing, not even flinching when Legend walks over.

“‘Rule?” He murmurs, kneeling in front of him. Hyrule’s eyes slowly focus on Legend, and he looks so distraught and _broken_. Legend doesn’t know what to do. He doesn’t _do_ feelings like this—not anymore. He doesn’t know how to comfort the kid without sounding like an asshole.

Luckily, he’s not alone. He sees Twilight walk up to them out of the corner of his eye, but he also sees Hyrule stiffen as the other hero approaches.

Twilight doesn’t say anything when he reaches them. Instead, he simply shrugs off his wolf-pelt jacket and wraps it around Hyrule’s shoulders, making sure the hood is up. It’s far too big on him, the hood falling over his eyes and his body swamped in the fluffy fur, but Legend has to bite back a smile at the rather cute sight. Hyrule looks up at Twilight with wide, curious eyes, but Twilight only offers a soft smile in return and he walks away to resume patrol after he ruffles the fur now covering Hyrule’s head.

He hears a sniffle from within the giant ball of fluff. Legend moves to sit beside Hyrule, his sword lying across his lap and head swiveling from side to side, scanning the landscape for anything that might have malicious intent. He doesn’t go back to sleep even after his watch ends, not wanting to leave Hyrule alone as he cries. At one point, Sky sleepily stumbles over to them, curling up in a ball on Hyrule’s other side and pressing against his leg in a show of silent support.

The comfort Hyrule is getting should be enough for Legend, and yet his heart feels heavy in his chest. Hyrule’s cries aren’t full of sadness, but grief and despair. He has come to terms with something within his mind, and Legend can only assume it’s Hyrule realizing that he will live the rest of his days plagued by what has happened on his journeys, no matter what solace he finds.

He doesn’t know how wrong he is.

* * *

“So how does your magic… _work?_ ” Wild asks. He is sprawled out on a low branch, one arm hanging down and swaying in the air. Hyrule leans his head back against the trunk of the tree, eyes fixated on Wild’s arm.

“What do you mean?”

Wild huffs. “I mean how do you cast it? Is it the singing?” Hyrule hates that he can feel his face burning up at that question. “Is it the hand motions? Both? What’s the deal?”

“You want to learn magic just to mess with Warriors don’t you?”

“And Twilight, but that’s not the point.”

Hyrule sighs, shaking his head with a smile. “It… kinda has to do with the hand motions?”

“And the singing?” Wild presses, and Hyrule can _hear_ the shit-eating grin in his voice.

“And the singing,” Hyrule grumbles. “But from what my teachers have told me, magic isn’t for everyone. Magic is something you inherit from your parents.”

“So it’s a bloodline thing, huh?” Wild sounds contemplative, as if he’s heard about this kind of stuff before.

Hyrule nods, then remembers that Wild can’t see him. “Yeah.”

Wild doesn’t say anything, so Hyrule lets the conversation die out, enjoying the companionable silence. He spies a fairly large rock and he wonders how heavy it is, and if there’s perhaps a lake nearby. Though… he doesn’t exactly have any rope—

“How long do you think it’ll take them to find us?” Wild asks, jolting Hyrule from his thoughts.

Hyrule hums. The others had been quarreling about where to go earlier, making makeshift maps and trying to find a path. As if they need a path! There’s so much exploring they could do while out here, so why limit themselves to a specific path? It doesn’t make any sense.

In a rare act of bravery, Hyrule had snagged Wild’s arm, knowing he would understand exactly where Hyrule was coming from, and dragged him off. It took them maybe twenty minutes to lose the others. The problem with this, however, is that now they are actually lost. Again.

“I don’t even think they’ve noticed that we’re gone yet,” Hyrule snickers. Wild laughs.

“Good point! Nobody was even watching!”

Hyrule and Wild have a habit of melting into the background, especially in cases like this. It’s why they get along now; it’s comforting to know that Hyrule isn’t the only one that’s not talkative and not keen on having all eyes on him.

Everyone else gets too caught up in the moment to really notice them anyway.

“So are you going to teach me, or…?”

Hyrule snorts out a laugh. “I can _try_ , but I doubt it will work.”

“No harm in trying though!” Wild sits up on his branch and jumps down, landing on the ground with a loud thump and scurrying over to sit in front of Hyrule.

“What do I do?” He asks eagerly. Hyrule chuckles.

“Slow down!” _I need to think of a spell that will cause the **least** chaos…_

“What else can your magic do?” Wild inquires as Hyrule tries to decide between Jump and Life.

“Most of it is passive,” Hyrule replies absently. _Jump might leave too much potential for chaos… especially with Wild._

“ _Most_ of it?” Wild leans closer, a mischievous glint in his eyes. Hyrule realizes his mistake.

“Uh… yeah. Most of it.”

Wild raises an expectant eyebrow. Hyrule huffs.

“I’m not telling you anything until we try Life.”

“Aw come on!” Wild pouts, but Hyrule raises his chin stubbornly.

“ _No_.”

To his surprise, Wild’s grin returns—almost smug? That is both strange and probably bad. Hyrule replays the conversation over in his head, but he doesn’t find anything amiss.

“I think that’s the most confident I’ve ever heard you,” Wild elaborates after a few moments have passed. “I didn’t know you could be so stubborn!”

Confident? Stubborn? He’s not either of those things. He’s _never_ been either of those things. He’s always been invisible—or at least he’s tried to be. He’s trying to be a simple traveler—a cursed traveler, actually, but that’s not important right now—but it’s hard to be simple when your people see you as a bad omen and the monsters hunt you endlessly and tirelessly.

“A-ah, well,” Hyrule ducks his head, holding up shaky hands and shyly peering at Wild. “Magic is dangerous, which is why I’m trying to teach you Life.”

Wild holds up his own hands, grin softening into an encouraging smile.

“Because there are no injuries to heal, your hands will only glow,” Hyrule begins. Is he even doing this right? His teachers actually knew how to, well, _teach_ , but Hyrule doesn’t even know what to look for if Wild can even perform magic!

_Just wing it like you always do._

With a deep breath to calm his nerves, he opens his mouth and, in a somber melodic tune, he sings, “ _Proiecit omnia tua dolorem,_ ”

“Woah, what?” Wild interrupts. “What did you just say?”

Hyrule’s mind goes blank. “Uh… I don’t know?”

Wild stares at him in disbelief. “You don’t know?”

“I never learned the meaning! I just know it’s some of the words to Life!”

“That’s not even _all_ of the words?”

“No! The next verse is _ponere animam tuam requiem_!”

Wild continues to stare. Hyrule fidgets under his gaze, twiddling his thumbs.

“That’s the hardest part,” Hyrule offers.

Wild snaps out of whatever stupor he was in, straightening his shoulders and nodding. “Run that by me again.”

They spend the next several minutes repeating the words back and forth to each other—accented by Wild complaining about how weird the language is and Hyrule admonishing him for saying the words wrong on purpose. Unfortunately, nothing pays off, because as Hyrule suspected, Wild can’t even perform magic in the first place.

To say that Wild is bummed is an understatement.

It only gets worse from there, because despite actually making an attempt to reunite with the others, they fail gloriously.

It’s gotten dark by the time Wild’s wolf finds them, ears flattened and tail lashing angrily. Wild smiles sheepishly at it, but the wolf just jerks its head and turns around in a clear sign for them to follow.

Hyrule holds his lantern higher to illuminate their surroundings. “I’m glad your wolf friend found us, now I just wonder how mad they are.”

“Oh, they’re not mad,” Wild replies knowingly, looking at the wolf in a mixture of fear and exasperation. “They’re _furious_. Trust me, I can tell.”

* * *

The cut on his hand stings as Hyrule swings his sword at the bokoblin. Twilight’s version of these guys are… frankly, terrifying, to say the least. They look remarkably more human than any of the other variations, and that alone puts Hyrule more on edge than ever.

But despite that, he also feels rather relieved. The clean cut in his hand is dripping blood, but the monsters aren’t signaling him out like Hyrule thought they would. He isn’t being hunted.

_This is an ideal time period_ , Hyrule concludes as he blocks the club with his shield and counters with a stab to the chest. When it falls, he turns to another and continues fighting.

While there are many, the bokoblins are effectively outmatched. Their strength is in numbers, not skill, and Hyrule has a lot of experience in dealing with hordes by himself. Now, he has the others to rely on.

It’s weird, having people to fight _with_ him and not _against_ him. He especially notices this when Warriors suddenly appears and stops a third bokoblin from lunging at Hyrule, ending its life with a quick and clean slice of his sword with brutal efficiency.

It’s amazing how differently they fight despite all of them knowing the ins and outs of the sword.

Hyrule finishes his own bokoblin off with another stab, kicking the body off his sword with none of the efficiency Warriors has. When he looks around for his next opponent, he finds nothing but his companions.

“Is everyone okay?” Time calls out.

Several of the others shout out affirmatives, but before Hyrule can answer with his own, a hand closes around his wrist. Warriors lifts his right hand, staring at the cut in his palm that’s still oozing blood. Hyrule looks up at him in confusion.

“When did you get hurt?” He asks.

_Crap_.

“In the fight just now,” Hyrule replies quickly, tugging against Warriors’s hold. Warriors tightens his grip in response, narrowing those striking blue eyes.

“Really?” Hyrule fidgets under his gaze, catching the disbelieving tone. “Just now? When all our enemies were using clubs?”

_Shit!_

Hyrule stiffens. “One of the clubs had a sharp bit on it. It’s nothing I can’t heal.”

Warriors raises an eyebrow. “Even a club with a “sharp bit” wouldn’t leave a cut like this. It’s too precise. This was caused by—“

“What are you two doing? We need to keep moving before more show up,” Twilight calls, interrupting Warriors and giving Hyrule the perfect chance to slip away.

“Coming!” Hyrule pulls himself free, though he suspects Warriors let him go. A glance over his shoulder shows the captain staring after him, confused, put off, sympathetic even.

Why he would feel those things, Hyrule doesn’t know. They don’t exactly talk a lot, and they are almost complete opposites in terms of personality. Where Hyrule is shy and anxious, Warriors is outgoing and confident. Where Hyrule is unsure and lost, Warriors is precise and steady.

It’s no wonder they fight so differently.

But it _is_ worrying that Warriors took notice. With a quick murmur, Hyrule uses his magic to erase the evidence as he reaches Twilight’s side. He has to be more careful in the future, especially since of all people, it was _Warriors_ who caught him.

But later that night, when Hyrule is fast asleep, Warriors sits with his head resting in his hands, staring into the fire and not even bothering to conceal his concern.

Hyrule said a sharp bit on a club was what cut his hand, but he was _lying_. That cut was caused by a sword that didn’t belong to their enemy.

The real question is why Hyrule was lying about such a minor injury in the first place. Hyrule has never tried to deny and hide injuries, he only refuses the help and treatment for said injuries, proclaiming that he can do it himself or to save their supplies for worse situations. The more Warriors thinks about it, the more he realizes that something is _very_ wrong with Hyrule.

“You look like someone just killed a puppy right in front of you.”

Warriors snorts as Legend sits down beside him. “I did _not_ need the mental image of a dead puppy in my head.”

“Well, let’s change the subject then: what’s on your mind?” Legend inquires, following Warriors’s gaze into the fire.

He sighs, unsure if he should really be talking about his current thoughts. It almost feels like gossiping behind someone’s back, but if he stays quiet, he knows it will only get worse.

“Do you know what’s going on with Hyrule?”

He expects Legend to frown, ask him what he means by that, say that nothing is going on, etcetera, but to his surprise, Legend lets out a heavy sigh, his shoulders slumping from their place in the corner of Warriors’s eye. “So, you caught on as well?”

“I… guess?” Warriors replies, now more confused than ever. He glances over at Legend, but the other hero doesn’t look away from the fire.

“To be honest with you, I don’t know what’s going on. All I know is that it’s something bad.”

That alone matches up with Warriors’s own conclusions, which only succeeds in worrying him even more.

“What gave it away?” Legend asks.

Warriors supposes that he has no choice but to spill the beans now. “He cut his hand earlier.”

Legend turns to him then, raising an eyebrow. “That’s it? He cut his hand?”

“Yeah. He says he cut it on a club.”

Legend blinks. Warriors waits expectantly, allowing Legend to connect the dots and form his own conclusion.

“What did it…” Legend doesn’t finish his question, but Warriors already knows the answer he’s looking for.

“It looked like a sword wound. He lied about it.”

Legend surprises him yet again by adopting a worried expression. “He lied about an injury as minor as that one?”

Warriors nods, and he can see Legend growing more and more concerned, which only proceeds to make him more concerned. It’s not just Warriors over-exaggerating the well-being of his comrades like he’s prone to doing, but a serious problem that someone else has recognized. He wishes he had known earlier so he could have put a stop to whatever is going on with Hyrule before it got this bad.

But he doesn’t know how deep the rabbit hole goes.

The two spend the rest of Warriors’s watch in a tense silence, eyes trained on the fluffy brown hair belonging to Hyrule. The kid is bundled up in his bedroll, looking far younger and innocent than he actually is.

_Why did Hyrule cut his own hand?_

* * *

“You’re _married_?” Sky shouts, sounding as shocked as Hyrule feels.

Time laughs at their stupor. “Is it so hard to believe?”

Time is _married_? That can _happen_?

“When do we meet her? _When_?” Wind demands, hands fisting into the sleeve of Time’s shirt.

Hyrule only half listens to the following mutterings, his thoughts practically screaming inside his head. _Marriage? One of us is married? We can get married? Really?_

“Wow,” Hyrule finds himself uttering, catching Time’s attention. “Its just… the idea of marriage, well I just didn’t think we could—“

“Find basic happiness?” Time interrupts with a small, sad smile on his face. “It took me years to see through that lie.”

A lie, huh? Maybe the knowledge of never being able to find happiness was a lie for _Time_ , but for Hyrule? Hyrule thought that maybe one day, far in the future, he might find somebody he could live the rest of his days with. Maybe one day he would find somebody to keep him company, to share his burden and for him to help carry theirs, to start a family and have a legacy. He never had parents in his life, he never had a family to call his own, and he wants one _so badly_.

But he’ll never have one.

Because he’s never going home; back to his time period.

His blood is the only thing keeping his time period safe, and right now, his blood isn’t even _in_ his time period.

And Hyrule plans to make sure it _never_ goes back to his time period.

“Yeah, life’s always on the road, never stopping, you know how it is,” Hyrule says behind his carefully constructed mask, not missing the sympathetic glance Wild sends his way.

Life is always moving, ever changing, and a beautiful miracle to witness.

But at the same time, it’s oh so fragile, and capable of such monstrous destruction that’s preventable if that life is merely… taken away.


	2. A Festering Wound

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *laughs in It’s Been Almost 3 Months Since I’ve Updated This*  
> Hi! I’m not dead, and this fic isn’t abandoned!  
> I’m so sorry it took so long to get the next chapter of this out. I’ve been having a lot of IRL issues lately, and when I DID have motivation to write, half the time I had a different idea screaming in my head.  
> But! Luckily for you guys, not only am I dedicated to this project again, but I ALSO couldn’t stop writing this damn chapter. As a result, there are now four chapters! Whoops.  
> Warning: Lots of fighting, lots of injuries, pretty violent but not too gory. Oh, and possession.  
> Good times all around, wouldn’t you say?  
> I do hope you enjoy! I’ll try to have the next chapter out asap. Thanks for being patient with me :)

Legend holds his head in his hands, gritting his teeth and willing himself not to cry as his emotions fight a war within.

_“If anyone can talk to him, it’s you Legend,” Wild says._

_Warriors nods. “He’s the most comfortable around you.”_

He thought they were right. He thought Hyrule would understand where he was coming from.

_“Are you okay?” Legend asks once they’re far enough away from the others._

_Hyrule turns to look at him, raising an eyebrow. “Why wouldn’t I be?”_

He thought everything had just been a coincidence. He truly thought that all these signs were… _nothing._

_“What’s going on with you?” Legend presses when he doesn’t get the answer he desires. “You’ve been acting strange lately.”_

_“What are you talking about?”_

He honestly thought Hyrule was okay.

_“I’m talking about **you**!” Legend moves in front of Hyrule, leveling him with a stern look and crossing his arms. “You’ve been… I don’t know, weird? Different?”_

_Hyrule stares at him with big green eyes, looking far too innocent and young. “You’re going to have to give me more to work with.”_

_“Funny,” Legend scoffs, “that’s exactly what I need from you.”_

He was foolish. So, _so_ foolish to think he was the right person for this.

_“I don’t know what you want,” Hyrule replies._

_”_ _Alright.” Legend steps closer, glaring at him now. “Lets start with this: why are you cutting your hand all the time?”_

_“W-what?” Hyrule takes a step back, but Legend’s hand lashes out and grabs his right wrist. He raises Hyrule’s hand, using a finger to trace the faint pink scar going from just below his pointer finger to the bottom of his hand, stretching across his palm and stopping just before the softer skin that makes up his wrist._

_“Why,” Legend repeats, “are you cutting your hand all the time?”_

He made a mistake. He fucked up. He fucked up _big_ time, just like he knew he would.

_  
Hyrule pulls his hand away, his expression darkening into one of anger. “What kind of question is that?”_

_“One that’s caused by worry,” Legend snaps back. “I’ve seen you slice your hand open more than once on your sword. Why?”_

_“It’s none of your business,” Hyrule growls._

_  
Legend barks out a laugh. “None of my business? All I’m trying to do is look out for you, and—“_

_“Who says you have to?” Hyrule interrupts, a cold fury in those normally soft green eyes. “Who says you’re suddenly entitled to know everything about me when you barely say anything about yourself?”_

_“That’s not what I meant and you know it.”_

_“Do I?” Hyrule steps back towards Legend, leaning in with a snarl on his face. “Because that’s what it sounds like.”_

_“Where is this even coming from?”_

_  
“It’s coming from you sticking your nose into matters that don’t concern you!”_

_  
“So I’m not allowed to be concerned about the fact that my friend is cutting his hand open every time we get into a battle?” Legend snarls back, squaring his shoulders and puffing out his chest. Hyrule meets his gaze evenly, eyes narrowed and hands curled into fists at his sides. “Or when he has nightmares every night and silently cries until someone else wakes up? How about when he doesn’t dodge out of the way of a sword clearly aiming for his head? How about when he panics at the sight of blood?”_

_With each accusation, Legend takes a step forward and Hyrule takes a step back. Both glare daggers at the other, anger radiating off their forms._

_  
“How about when he **lies** about being okay?” Legend yells, and Hyrule flinches, breaking eye contact and ducking his head. _

_“Because who gives a shit?” Hyrule mumbles, and that causes the rage building up and up within Legend to come to a screeching halt. “Why would anyone bother to care? I’m just a bad omen. I just ruin things even more than they already are.”_

_Hyrule meets Legend’s gaze again, and the amount of pain and grief he sees shining in those eyes makes Legend anger curl up and die. “I’m **nothing**. So why do you care so much? What do you want? What am I worth to you?”_

Why him? Why not someone else who can actually handle these kinds of feelings? Why not someone who knows how to be encouraging, how to be uplifting? Why not someone who didn’t doom the world Hyrule lives in?

_“I’m not your friend because of your worth, Hyrule,” Legend states. “And you’re not nothing, you’re a hero like the rest of us.”_

_Hyrule’s gaze hardens. “I’m not like the rest of you! I didn’t save the world like you all did, I only endangered it more! I killed Ganon, and I cursed the land and myself!”_

_He steps closer, getting into Legend’s face and hissing,“I had the entire Triforce at one point. You want to know what I did with it? I didn’t bring peace to the land like you did, I didn’t revert my curse, I didn’t destroy Ganon’s cult.” Hyrule shakes his head, eyes wide with a manic gleam. “No. Instead, I woke up a princess who’s been asleep for decades and caused a political uprising in an already chaotic world._

_“So go ahead, **Legend** ,” he spits out the name with such venom, it makes Legend flinch. “Go ahead and tell me I’m a hero like you, like the others. What could I have possibly done to earn my place among walking myths and saviors?”_

_He waits for a reply, but Legend’s mind is whirling, scrambling to reorient itself and take in all the information that was suddenly dumped out into the open. He killed Ganon and things only got worse? He’s cursed **because** he killed Ganon? He saved a princess and that caused more strife? What kind of world is he living in? What kind of world did Legend leave behind for him?_

_Hyrule smiles, wry, sad, knowing. “You can’t think of a reason, can you?”_

_Legend can’t even **begin** to describe the amount of horror and grief and guilt screaming from within._

_“I cut my hand every time we get into a battle just in case any of the monsters are from my time period,” Hyrule whispers, locking Legend in place with a fierce gaze. “So that way I know I’m not back, and I’m still living this fleeting dream.”_

_With that, Hyrule walks away, and Legend holds his head in his hands, gritting his teeth and willing himself not to cry as his emotions fight a war within._

By the time Legend pulls himself back together, Warriors is sitting beside him, his scarf and an arm wrapped around Legend’s shoulders. They are sitting on a log, and Legend doesn’t remember Warriors showing up or moving to sit, and he wonders just how long he had been standing there, completely frozen in shock.

“You back with me?” Warriors asks quietly, giving his shoulder a squeeze.

“I…” What does he say? What does he _do_? What Hyrule told him is just… how much of that is true? What did Legend leave behind for him to take up?

“Hey,” Warriors gives him a gentle shake. “Calm down. You’re shaking.”

He is, isn’t he? He can feel it in the way Warriors tightens his hold, pulling Legend closer so that their sides are pressed together. Legend leans on him, craving the warmth and comfort of another person.

“I fucked up,” He chokes out.

“Tell me what happened,” Warriors murmurs, and Legend breathes out a heavy sigh.

“I talked to him like you and Wild said.” A bitter laugh follows his words. “And I fucked it up. Goddesses above, I fucked it all up…”

“What did he say?”

  
“I confronted him about his hand,” Legend begins. “And everything just… spiraled out of control…”

Legend goes on to reiterate everything that had just occurred, his heart so very heavy in his chest. Warriors takes in the information with a horror that slowly grows as Legend keeps talking, wondering how he could have been so blind before, how he could have let this drag on and on.

“I don’t know what to do, War,” Legend says, utterly defeated and absolutely exhausted. “He succeeds me. How do I fix this?”

But Warriors shakes his head. “I don’t know, Legend. But I _do_ know that we can help him now.”

Legend looks up at him, oblivious to the tears running down his face. “What do we do?”

Warriors tugs him even closer, pulling the scarf tighter around him as Legend rests his head on his shoulder. “We show him that he’s more than what he says he is.”

Meanwhile, Hyrule hides in Wild’s cloak, the other hero’s arms around his shoulders to shield him from any prying eyes.

Why did he do that? Why did he say all of those things? Why did he expose himself like that when he could have just kept his mouth shut? Goddesses, he finally had _one_ good thing and he just had to go and ruin it!

_Maybe it’s for the best,_ his mind whispers, dark and tantalizing as always. _Maybe it’s for the best that you made him hate you. It will hurt less when you’re gone._

The thought gives him no comfort, but it does solidify Hyrule’s plan to save his time period from Ganon forever.

He’s not going to fuck this up.

* * *

“Any idea where we are?” Four asks, lifting his lantern and peering at their surroundings.

“I’m not sure,” Hyrule hums, eyeing what looks to be old tombs that have been cracked open. “This reminds me of the labyrinths back home but…”

“But it’s not your home, is it?” Four finishes.

“No.”

The room they’re in is somewhat cut into two, one part elevated and one part lowered—and to neither of their surprise, they’re in the lowered part with no exit in sight. Only five tombs and a large, square stone that’s pushed up against a wall can be seen. They might be able to climb the stone block to reach the upper part of the room…

But what makes this even more strange and unnerving is how the tombs are positioned: upright and leaning against the dingy walls. The lids are on the ground in front, and some even have claw marks in both the lid and the tomb itself. Hyrule shivers at the sight, not liking the chill that runs up his spine.

“Those poor souls,” Four murmurs, kneeling down by the lid of one tomb. He runs a hand over the marks.

“I just hope they didn’t suffer for too long,” Hyrule adds, making his way over to the stone block with Four on his heels. It looks big enough to get him up to the higher part of the room, and just the right size for him to climb. Four might have a little more difficulty though, if the frown on his face is anything to go by.

“I could boost you up?” Hyrule suggests. Four hums, but then he shakes his head. He grips the top of the stone block and pulls himself up, grunting and pushing against the block with his feet. Hyrule has to stop his jaw from dropping. Four is so small, but he’s far stronger than Hyrule gave him credit for. He clambers up after the other hero, scaling the block with less difficulty thanks to his height.

Hyrule uses the leverage of the block to pull himself up the rest of the way, huffing a little once he reaches the top. He could have used Jump for this, but he’d rather save his magic for more pressing matters. However, when he doesn’t hear Four climbing up after him, Hyrule furrows his eyebrows and looks over the edge.

Four twiddles his thumbs, looking up at Hyrule rather sheepishly. When Hyrule raises an eyebrow, Four huffs, face turning a little red.

“I can’t reach the top,” he mumbles.

_Oh._

Without a word, Hyrule leans over the edge and extends him a hand. Four takes it and with a grunt, he pulls himself up with Hyrule’s help, muttering out a thank you that Hyrule waves off with a small smile.

He’s glad there’s still an easy friendship between him and Four. Ever since his argument with Legend, things have been rather tense with everyone. Legend lets nobody near him except Warriors, snapping at anyone else who draws near. Everyone is walking on eggshells around him while sending Hyrule accusatory glances wearing curiosity as a disguise. Wild is the only one who approaches him, and a majority of the time they just sit in silence, isolated from the others.

Wild, and Four, who will fall into step beside him while they walk and just start _rambling._ Whether that’s about smithery, strange encounters on his adventures, or old fairy tales, he’ll just talk and _talk_. Hyrule finds that he really appreciates the stories. They distract him from all the turmoil inside made up of guilt, anger, grief, so on.

Hyrule really doesn’t know what to do. Talking to Legend will only worsen his predicament, and he has a bad feeling that Warriors knows more about their argument than he’s letting on. Hyrule has yet to confront him about it, and he doesn’t think he ever will.

But that’s not important right now.

Hyrule and Four make their way over to what appears to be a doorway, but there’s a weird, skull symbol painted on the wall where a door should be. With an experimental hum, Hyrule steps forward and presses a hand to the wall, feeling for any signs of weakness in it. He doesn’t have a bomb, but if he could find _something_ to work with—

The wall shifts, particles of dust flying everywhere as it automatically lifts from the ground and slides up into the rest of the wall in response to his touch.

“Oh.” Four walks forward, looking into the space left behind by the… “door”, eyes glinting violet in the dark light. “I have to know how that works.”

“Later,” Hyrule chuckles, grabbing Four’s sleeve and pulling him along as he ventures out of the room. “Let’s find everyone else first and figure out just where we are.”

Four pouts but follows along anyway, pulling free of Hyrule’s grasp to jog ahead.

Upon walking through yet another portal, something must have gone wrong between the transition, as they have never been separated like this before and they normally appear in a wide, open area, not some dark room in what might be a temple of some sort. Four is his only companion right now, and Hyrule just hopes the others are somewhere nearby and safe, even if he’s not exactly on good terms with everyone.

Outside of the room, there’s another one of those weird doors—this one with an extra scary skull painted on it—and stairs leading down to another section of the… Dungeon? Catacombs?

He doesn’t have time to ponder where, exactly, they are. Just as Four reaches the stairs, he scrambles backward into Hyrule, who lets out a surprised noise at the sudden action. While Hyrule is normally quiet, these walls carry his voice easily through the silent air, his footsteps echoing after it as Four shoves him back toward where they came from, a hand on Hyrule’s mouth.

“Monsters,” Four mouths just as he hears heavy _thumps_ begin to lumber closer and closer. When Hyrule backs up against a wall, they stop their frantic movements and wait, as still as they can possibly be, chests aching as they hold their breaths, eyes wide as they watch for anything that’s not one of their companions.

A grunt is all they hear before the footsteps retreat, the monster presumably losing interest and wandering back into the area it came from. Four backs away quietly, allowing Hyrule to let out a sigh of relief.

“How many,” Hyrule whispers.

“Two,” Four responds, “but they’re Wind’s moblins, and…” Four narrows his eyes, looking unsure and… almost frightened.

“And what?” Hyrule presses, not liking the expression on Four’s face.

“I thought I saw something else, but I’m not sure,” Four answers after another moment. “Maybe a ghost?”

Oh great. Ghosts. Just what they needed. He just hopes it’s not a moa or something. Those things are _never_ alone and love to swarm him.

The urge to cut his hand, to check and make _sure_ they aren’t moas or some other enemy from his time period is strong. It’s like an utter _need_ , his brain demanding that he does it before he makes a mistake and causes the world to end.

“But there’s another door,” Four continues, effectively dragging Hyrule from his thoughts and pointing towards the door with the extra scary skull painted on it. “Let’s try that way.”

Hyrule nods, dispelling the thoughts in favor of the task ahead. Getting to the door is easy enough. All they do is scramble over to it and run inside before any monsters can take notice—and it helps that the stairs leading down to the monsters have a strange design, almost as if they slid down from the level Four and Hyrule are on. It’s like there’s a hole in the wall that shouldn’t be there. An unlocked secret passage perhaps?

No matter. Hyrule and Four find themselves safely on the other side of the door with the scary skull, but a quick look around shows that they’ve gotten themselves into yet another predicament.

There’s no other exits aside from the one they came from. The room is wide open and grand, stairs leading up to an old chest that was opened long ago, two more of those tombs laying horizontal with the lids popped off, but there’s no other way out.

Hyrule’s heart sinks as he and Four come to this realization. They’re going to have to deal with those monsters after all.

There’s only two monsters—or at least two _definite_ monsters—but the possibility of there being ghostly enemies has the hair on the back of Hyrule’s neck rising. Not to mention, they’re _moblins_. One is bad enough, but two of them? While they’re separated? If they were _his_ version of moblins, Hyrule wouldn’t be as worried. He knows their attack patterns and how to counter them without getting hurt. He can _deal_ with those.

But neither him nor Four know what tricks Wind’s version of these things have up their nonexistent sleeves. They have only ever encountered one of these moblins, and Wild snuck up on it and planted a bomb.

Sneaking isn’t much of an option. Hyrule and Four crouch at the top of the stairs, peering down into the lower room and keeping themselves hidden in the shadows. The moblins walk in a circle, equal distance apart from each other. Their heads swivel from side to side as they swing their lanterns back and forth. They’re patrolling, Hyrule realizes.

And beyond them, Hyrule sees two more lanterns. But what’s odd about them is how they appear to have no wielder. They simply float around, occasionally swinging erratically.

Not moas, but ghosts all the same.

“If we can take down one quickly, the other shouldn’t be much of a problem,” Four murmurs to him. “Do you have any bombs?”

Hyrule shakes his head, and Four mutters a curse under his breath.

“Neither do I. Only one bomb arrow I nicked from Wild.” He hums in thought, studying the two moblins as they continue to walk their path. Hyrule considers bringing up his magic, when Four smirks, a gleam in his eye that Hyrule can’t say he likes.

“I have a plan.” Four turns to him, eyes more purple than blue, and he briefly wonders if that’s a trick of the light or something else. “Remember that moblin we fought in Time’s Hyrule? In the Lost Woods?”

Hyrule nods, recalling the memory all too well. That had been a _scary_ encounter, and it had taken all of them to kill it—and they didn’t get away unscathed. Warriors was complaining about a black eye for _weeks_ , using Legend’s shield as a mirror to check on it. Not to mention, Time had gotten _stabbed_ before they even knew it was there.

“Think you can jump that high again?” Four asks. “Or at least half that high?”

So Four remembers that. He didn’t think using Jump to land a finishing blow on that particular moblin would be too memorable, but it was a risk he had to take. He can easily reach those heights again with his magic, and these moblins are significantly smaller. One quick stab is all it takes.

Hyrule nods, and Four’s smirk widens.

“Perfect.” Four pulls out his bow and quiver from his bag. “I’ll distract the other by shooting it. That should give you enough time to take out the first one. Sound like a plan?”

Hyrule nods again, not trusting his voice. He doesn’t like the jittery nerves running rampant in his system right now, but all he has to do is kill the one moblin, then help Four take down the other one all while avoiding the ghosts. It shouldn’t be a problem. He’s faced far worse on his own. This _isn’t_ going to be a problem.

_This isn’t going to be a problem_ , he repeats to himself over and over as he draws his sword and breathes out the incantation for Jump. _Why do I have such a bad feeling about this?_

“Ready?” Four asks.

Hyrule nods once more, steeling himself as Four nocks an arrow and draws back the string on his bow.

“Now!”

Hyrule sprints down the stairs, the ground beneath his feet feeling almost springy as his magic does its work. The closet moblin spots him immediately, a twisted grin pulling its lips back as it swings around to face him, fumbling for its spear with one hand and dangerously waving its lantern with the other. Hyrule leaps into the air just as an arrow flies past him and buries itself into the snout of the other moblin, who shrieks in anger. With his sword aimed downward and his enemy rearing back in surprise, Hyrule lets gravity do the rest of the work.

He does not account for the possibility of the moblin throwing its lantern at him.

It hits him square in the face, the glass shattering and cutting into his skin while flames lash out. A yell claws its way out of his throat as Hyrule falters, hands letting go of his sword in favor of clutching at his face. His sword bounces harmlessly off the moblin, Hyrule following it and landing on the floor in a crumpled heap.

Had it not been for Four’s reflexes, Hyrule is sure the moblin’s spear would have found a home in his stomach. Hyrule scrambles to his feet, using one hand to push himself up and using the other to pull the glass shards out of his face as best as he can. His eyes are open in slits, just enough to see as he scampers away from the moblins and their spears. He picks at the glass shards, nicking his fingers and deepening the cuts while his nose and cheeks _burn_. The moblin he failed to strike down lets out an angry bellow, and from what Hyrule can see, there is an arrow sticking out of its snout.

_Idiot!_ His mind screams as he blindly searches for his sword. _I should have expected this!_

“To your left!” He hears Four cry out. Hyrule ducks to avoid a spear as he lurches to the left, a hand brushing over a familiar hilt. Without a second thought, Hyrule grabs his sword and swings it up, letting out a gasp when it cuts into one of the moblins. A pained shriek causes his ears to ring, and thundering footsteps send Hyrule scrambling away as the other moblin joins its now wounded companion.

Half blind and injured, Hyrule decides the best course of action is to _get away_. Praying that he’s enough of a distraction for Four, Hyrule starts running, the moblins giving chase. He presses a hand to his face as he runs, hissing out the spell for Life and feeling both relief and bliss as his magic does its work.

And just in time, too. Just as Hyrule fully opens his eyes again, he barely has enough time to register another lantern swinging at him. He comes to a screeching halt, narrowly missing the lantern in the hands of one of the ghosts and realizes his mistake far too late as an explosion goes off behind him. Hyrule goes flying like a rag-doll, landing on his side and smacking his head on the stone ground. When he manages to pry open his eyes—he’s not sure when he closed them—he finds himself looking up at the ghost, the lantern gently swaying from side to side as a transparent figure comes into view. It looks vaguely humanoid, stubby arms and legs visible in the blob that makes up its body and a mask sporting gleaming red eyes and a wide, twisted smile. With a cackle, it throws the lantern aside, flames shooting out of the broken glass and effectively cutting Hyrule off from Four, who was sprinting past the charred body of one moblin and the limp form of the other in an attempt to reach him. He must’ve used the bomb arrow.

“Hyrule, watch out!” Four cries, but it’s too late.

The ghost looms over Hyrule, eyes turning a sickly yellow and freezing him in place with its burning gaze. With another chilling cackle, it surges down at him, and before Hyrule can roll out of the way, it disappears. In its place, he feels something settle in his chest, like a weight that suddenly latched onto him from the inside.

He tries to get back on his feet, but his legs give out, forcing him to kneel as the flames die down. He finds himself weak in the knees and arms like jelly. What _is_ that? Where did the ghost go?

“Hyrule?” Four whispers in the eerily quiet room.

“Where did it…” Hyrule goes to ask, but then he feels the weight in his chest start to _move_. It expands, spreading through his chest, cold and dark as it makes its way along the length of his body. Hyrule tries to say something, anything to let Four know that _something is wrong_ , but he only lets out a choked noise as the weight moves up his throat and into his head. The rest of it reaches downward, and he tries to claw at where he can _feel_ it going, nails digging into his clothes to scratch at his skin, but soon he can’t even move his arms anymore, the darkness having taken root in his limbs.

He hardly gets the chance to see the horror on Four’s face before everything suddenly goes black. He hears Four let out a shout before his hearing disappears. The self inflicted wounds on his neck only begin to sting before they’re numb. The next thing Hyrule knows, he’s locked in a box of nothingness.

_What’s going on?_ He tries to cry out, _Where am I? What’s happening? Is anybody there? Four? Wild? Legend? Anyone?_

A muffled, mute whispering reaches his ears—or at least he _thinks_ he has ears. _Hello?_ He tries to call. _Can anybody hear me?_

But the whispers mock him, dancing out of his range of hearing, taunting him by letting him make out a word here and there, such as: _Stop, yourself,_ and _control._

While muffled and mute, the whispering only grows louder as time goes on, words jumbled and overlapping one another so that Hyrule can’t make anything out. He tries to reach up and cover his ears, but there’s nothing there for him to move and nothing there for him to cover. Louder and louder, it taunts him, mocks him, and he can’t do anything to stop it. Louder and louder, Hyrule hears words and phrases bleed through, such as: _Come back to me, you’re under its control,_ and _you will kill everyone._

That last one repeats itself, sometimes as clear as day, sometimes lost in the mix of other whispers. But it’s the one thing he can hear, it’s the one thing he can understand, so he clings to it. He clings to it and lets everything else go, lets everything else fall away until he knows nothing but those four words: _you will kill everyone._

_“You will kill everyone,”_ he repeats to himself. _“You will kill everyone._ ”

But it doesn’t sound right, and the other whispers scream their disapproval. This is the only thing he has now, and it has to be _perfect._ There is nothing else for him, not his name, not his identity, not his body, _nothing_ but those four words.

_I will kill everyone,_ one of the whispers suggests.

_“I will kill everyone,”_ he repeats. “ _I will kill everyone.”_

He hears one of the voices scream. The others murmur their approval.

There’s a feeling of wrongness still, but another feeling tells him that this is _right_ , that this is _correct_ , and it overpowers the little inkling that’s telling him he needs to wake up and fight back. He lets the urge die, lets himself enjoy his four little words, lets himself lose everything that makes him Link until he knows nothing but the voices.

_“I will kill everyone.”_

* * *

“Hyrule, watch out!” Four cries, but it’s too late.

The ghost—no, _monster_ —swoops down and disappears just before it touches Hyrule. Four comes to a stop before the smoldering embers of the fire caused by the lantern, watching as Hyrule tries to stand and fails, forced to kneel among the shattered glass. His body trembles in an effort to stay upright, and when he looks up, Four’s blood runs cold at the sight that greets him.

_His eyes are purple._

“Hyrule?” Four whispers in the eerily quiet room. Hyrule’s skin is so pale, sweat clinging to his brow as he pants for breath. Four can only watch as Hyrule meets his gaze.

“Where did it…?” He goes to ask, only to suddenly stop speaking. Four’s breath hitches in his throat as Hyrule’s eyes widen. He lets out a noise between a gasp and a cry, and Four feels a chill run up his spine at the sight of dark lines creeping up Hyrule’s neck in vein-like patterns. He’s rooted to the spot as Hyrule’s hands fly up to his neck, hands digging into the soft skin to draw blood. And then his hands are tearing at his arms, trying to rip through the clothing in an attempt to… Four doesn’t know what, but the panicked look in Hyrule’s eyes tells him everything he needs to know as the lines creep higher and higher up his neck. Four takes one step before Hyrule suddenly _jerks_ , eyes going blank.

“Hyrule!” He shouts, but he gets no reply. Hyrule’s hands stop scratching at his tunic, his entire body going lax as he blinks dark purple eyes slowly. Once, twice, and that’s when Four notices that the lines have spread across every inch of skin that’s showing.

And above him, the mask of the monster appears and lets out a cruel cackle, Hyrule’s body twitching and jerking as he rises to his feet, sword loosely held in his hand. The eyes of the mask and the unnatural purple ones in the place of Hyrule’s green lock onto Four, and he knows he’s in trouble.

“Hyrule, stop,” Four orders in a trembling voice as his friend takes a wobbly step forward. “It’s trying to control you. Don’t let it,” Four pleads, backing away as Hyrule’s steps grow steadier and steadier. “Come back to yourself!” Four cries as Hyrule tightens his grip on his sword.

_I don’t want to do this!_ His mind begs as Four slowly draws his own sword. _I… I **can’t** do this!_

But Hyrule continues to move closer and closer, footsteps turning into strides as the monster shrieks in laughter above. As Hyrule’s body moves, Four sees the moblin he didn’t hit with the bomb arrow stirring, starting to become aware of its surroundings again after being slammed into the wall and knocked unconscious. A quick glance to his left shows the other ghostly monster watching, lantern bobbing curiously as it sways, and Four doesn’t like how close it’s getting.

He looks back just in time to see the light glinting off the metal of Hyrule’s sword. With a yelp, Four scrambles back just before the sword can bury itself in his neck, Hyrule stumbling after his clumsy swing. He swings again, and Four is forced to bring his sword up.

He severely underestimates how strong Hyrule is. The amount of force Hyrule put in his onslaught rips Four’s own weapon from his hands. The clatter it makes when it hits the ground sounds hollow, almost mournful as Four leaps away to avoid another swing.

_Don’t panic, don’t panic!_

Four tries to unhook his shield, but Hyrule’s assault keeps him jumping and rolling and ducking, all to avoid the business end of the blade while he begs, _pleads_ for Hyrule to come back, to fight against the monster pulling the strings, to understand he’s under its control, to realize that at this rate, he’ll kill _everyone._

It’s all in vain. With every second that passes by, Hyrule’s footing gets better, his attacks smoother. Four is fighting a losing battle, and it becomes apparent when he goes to dodge once more only for the tip of Hyrule’s sword to connect with the thin skin on his cheek. Four presses a hand to the gash, half of his mind screaming to fight back and defend himself, the other half urging him to get away before it’s too late.

_What do I do?_ Hyrule’s sword misses him by mere inches as he rolls away. _If I attack him, will that hurt him, or the monster?_ He throws up his shield just in time to block a blow that would have sliced his chest open. _I’m running out of time, I’m running out of time! Where’s my sword?_

“I will kill everyone.” Hyrule’s voice is hardly louder than a whisper, but with nothing but the _swoosh_ following every missed swing and the occasional _clang_ as the weapon hits his shield, Four hears him loud and clear.

“ _Get out of his head_ ,” Four yells, arms straining to hold his shield steady against the deadly blade, but his only reply is another cackle from the monster that sounds like a nail scraping against metal. From the corner of his eye, he sees the moblin stand up on wobbly feet, its lance clutched in its hands. He needs to find his weapon and _fast_ if he’s going to have any shot at winning this fight.

But the crackle of electricity brings his attention back to Hyrule. The hands clutched around the sword bristle with purple lightning, and Four sees the blank expression crack, sees it widen into a smile that does nothing to calm Four’s nerves—the opposite, actually.

“I will kill everyone,” he repeats as the monster lets out a triumphant screech.

And suddenly, Four is _very_ conscious of the fact that both Hyrule’s sword and his shield are made of metal.

He has no time to move before a burning _agony_ shoots through his body, his vision turning white as fire carves a path within. A scream rips from his throat as his body convulses, arms and legs becoming jelly under the barrage of _pain pain pain!_

And then it stops.

He crumples to the ground, jerking and twitching, eyes focusing and unfocusing in and out and in and out as Hyrule stands over him, face blank and without a hint of remorse.

And through the haze of pain, through the numbness that is his mind, Four sees Hyrule turn away, footsteps muffled by the ringing in his ears. In his place, a lantern approaches, floating through the stale air as it sways from side to side in a hypnotic manner. Closer and closer, the flame grows stronger, closer and closer, the ghostly figure comes into view, closer and closer…

_Get away!_ His mind screams through the fog. _Get away now! Before it’s too late!_

The trance shatters. Four fights through the fog, forces the jelly in his arms and legs to solidify as he desperately tries to push himself to his feet. The lantern floats, the red eyes of the ghost— _monster_ —gleaming in the shadows.

His entire body shrieks as he moves, claws of pain raking down every inch of skin but he can’t stay here, he can’t let that _thing_ get any closer, he has to get away, he has to _run—_!

Hyrule has yet to turn back around as Four’s arms and legs wobble under his weight. The lantern, however, gives pause, the malevolent spirit peering at him in a twisted kind of curiosity, watching him struggle, panic, _fight._

It’s a blessing in disguise. Four finds his footing and seizes the chance given to him. With every muscle throbbing under his skin from every little movement, with the cut in his cheek protesting as he grits his teeth together, Four hobbles toward the nearest exit, not daring to look back, not daring to breathe.

The alarmed call from the moblin has his heart sinking in his chest.

He doesn’t need to turn around to hear the footsteps rushing his way. Four takes what little strength he has left and charges for the stairs leading down even further into the temple, hoping that he can outrun Hyrule in this state, praying that there’s an exit of some sort. His heartbeat roars in his ears, mixing with the sound of labored breathing as he rushes down the steep stairs. Hyrule is hot on his heels, the gap between them growing shorter and shorter as the thunderous footsteps grow louder and louder. Four doesn’t realize how screwed he is until his feet betray him, his ankle rolling under his weight and sending him tumbling down the stairs, unyielding stone digging into his arms, legs, chest, back. He comes to a jarring stop when he hits a wall, only for the wall to disappear behind him.

Despite more pain sinking its claws into his body, Four grits his teeth and shoves it away in favor of pushing himself to his feet once more. Hyrule is still running down the stairs after him, eyes ablaze with a purple fury, the monster above shrieking and caterwauling. He seems to be having a hard time adjusting to the stairs, legs shaking and arms held out for balance.

Four doesn’t waste the opportunity rush through the now open doorway. With trembling limbs that protest with glaring pain, he keeps running, and running, and _running_ , the stale air choking him rather than giving him the strength he needs.

When he sees nowhere else to go aside from down a ledge to get to the rest of the new room, Four doesn’t hesitate to leap off, curling his body into a roll. However, he underestimates his own exhaustion, as when his body meets the floor, he doesn’t completely roll. He stays on his back, limbs splayed out and heavier than any weight he’s ever had the pleasure of lifting. He heaves for breath, fighting the urge to close his eyes, desperately trying to keep himself afloat in the sea of pain, not willing to succumb to the sweet release of unconsciousness.

He doesn’t get a choice.

He doesn’t hear the otherworldly whirring of the predator that’s slowly approaching him. He doesn’t see the purple particles emitting from the hole in the floor. He doesn’t know the monster is upon him until it’s lashing out, long fingers curling around his tiny body and _squeezing,_ nails digging into his clothes to tear at his skin. Four chokes out a cry as he’s jerked into the air, the twisted limb attached to the hand disappearing into a black abyss, taking him with it.

When Hyrule finally rounds the corner, he sees no sign of Four anywhere. He only hears the echoed _“Help!”_ bounce off the walls, oblivious to what happened just mere seconds prior.

With the monster letting out an unsatisfied growl, Hyrule turns around and makes his way back to the previous room, his shuffling replacing the cry of fear in the eerily quiet temple.

* * *

Legend pulls his sword out of the skull, lip curled in a sneer as the flames die down. The monster beneath his blade lets out a pained squeal before dissipating into thick, dark smoke. More skulls float in the air, flames dancing around their forms and illuminating the dark room in an eerie orange light, as if they were lanterns and not creatures out for their blood.

Somewhere in the dark, the sound of steel meeting bone indicates Warriors’ presence, his blade and shoulder guard catching the light of the flames as he moves with the grace and flair of his namesake.

Legend can’t help the cynical snort he lets out at the thought as he flicks his sword to rid it of a piece of skull still stubbornly clinging on. All the grace and flair of a captain indeed, but so easily offended and quick to a temper. It’s a wonder he’s the only one keeping Legend sane right now as they fight giant flaming skulls that float around what appears to be some kind of catacomb.

What _is_ his life?

Before he can even _begin_ to answer that question for the umpteenth time, a familiar whirring noise causes his ear to twitch. A quick glance shows specks of purple drawing closer and closer, the actual body of the monster hiding in the dark, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike on its prey.

“Oh captain, my captain,” Legend calls out in a sing-song voice that doesn’t quite match the scowl on his face. “Trendy is on his way back!”

Warriors lets out a loud curse as their Floormaster friend starts creeping back towards them, lingering at the edges of their vision, hesitating, waiting. Or at least Legend _thinks_ it’s a Floormaster. It _better_ be a Floormaster and not a _fucking Wallmaster_ , or he swears he’s going to rip his hair out!

The Floormaster—shy little shit it is—makes its way over to Warriors, knowing better than to attack Legend again, if the loss of one finger is anything to go by. Normally, a Floormaster—or a Wallmaster—would lunge at him and either catch him or miss and die by Legend’s blade. However, Legend hadn’t quite landed a proper blow on this one, thus teaching it a lesson and making it use a more careful approach. Or, in other words, Legend fucked up and now the stupid hand thingy is even _more_ annoying.

Thus came the nickname Trendy, homage to that _fucking crane game_ that had Legend ready to hop over the rails and just _steal_ the damn items he needed.

Warriors bats away yet another flaming skull with his sword, twisting and turning to keep his eyes on all his foes without giving them an opening. Legend disposes of another skull with one hand, reaching for his boomerang with the other as Warriors effortlessly cuts through the flames, their light source slowly but surely thinning with each skull destroyed. Trendy waits, hardly visible in the darkness, poised to strike when the right moment comes.

Legend holds his breath, grip tightening on his weapon, watching carefully with his heart pounding in his ears. Warriors continues to hack away at the skulls, their attention solely on him and leaving Legend hidden in the dark. Warriors performs a spin-attack when the Floormaster strikes.

It clamps down on Warriors’s sword arm before he can complete his attack. He lets out a startled grunt, struggling against the hand uselessly as it begins to drag him toward the mobile void in the ground. Legend throws his boomerang then, running after it with his sword at the ready. The projectile startles Trendy enough to loosen its grip on Warriors, allowing the captain to wriggle free and swing his sword in a counter. Trendy rears back, avoiding the slash while the boomerang returns to Legend’s grasp. With Trendy paying attention to Warriors, Legend is able to sprint into range without scaring it off. With a quick slice, Trendy lets out a shriek and flees into its void, closing it off and disappearing.

“Thanks,” Warriors huffs out, rubbing his sword arm with a wince on his face. Legend sheathes his weapon and brings out his lantern, fiddling with it.

“How bad is your arm?” Legend demands, holding up his newly lit lantern to get a better look at their surroundings. Warriors snorts.

“It’s just a bruise,” He chuckles. “I’ll be fine.”

Legend stares at him for a moment longer, eyes narrowed in scrutiny. Warriors rolls his own in exasperation.

“I’m _fine._ You and I both know that we’ve had much worse than a bruise.”

Legend grumbles, but relents. If Warriors is really having an issue with his arm, he’ll notice it later on. The guy is quite dramatic at times.

“You wouldn’t happen to know where we are, would you?” Legend asks instead, glancing around at their surroundings now that they have a moment of respite.

“Not a clue,” Warriors answers. “I don’t envy whoever’s time period we managed to land in.” His statement is followed by a sigh. “Speaking of, they’re not here with us, are they?”

“If they are, I haven’t seen them,” Legend mutters, eyeing the room they’re in suspiciously. This place _reeks_ of monsters and the undead. With how stale the air is, Legend is almost a hundred percent certain that they’re underground, and if all the dust and mold are anything to go by, this place hasn’t been properly taken care of in a _very_ long time.

All signs point towards a temple that’s bound to be a pain in the ass.

“We might as well get moving then.” Warriors starts heading towards the nearest exit, an old door that looks to be sealed shut with a skull painted on it. Legend looks around for any pots or conveniently placed skulls as Warriors walks up to the door, wondering if there’s a button or a switch hidden somewhere that will unlock the—

“Oh.”

Warriors had merely rested his hand against the door when it had jerked underneath his touch and shot upward into the wall. He turns back to Legend with a grin and a twinkle in his eyes.

“Neat,” he whispers, as if he were a child discovering candy for the first time.

Legend, meanwhile, fights the urge to pout. “My temples never had automatic doors,” he grumbles.

“Sucks to suck.”

“Shut up.”

They make their way through the door and into another room, significantly brighter. Straight ahead is another one of those automatic doors, to their left is _another_ door, and to their right is a statue of some kind of sun deity perhaps? The entire thing is glowing yellow, but the twisted smile on its face doesn’t give the two heroes a feeling of safety despite the ethereal light. There are stairs going even further into the ground at the foot of it.

“I’ll leave this up to you,” Warriors says before Legend can even begin to decide which way to go. “I’ve never been a puzzle guy, and I’ve certainly never gone through one of these temples in its entirety. You on the other hand…”

Legend gives him a curt nod. “I’ve been through enough for the both of us.” He takes only a few moments to survey the room before shrugging and marching forward.

Warriors follows behind, letting out a surprised noise. “I thought you would have gone for the statue,” he says.

“That thing is creepy as _fuck_ , and I don’t want to go near it,” Legend replies. “Besides, it’s better to go straight and stay on this main path. Branching off now may only lead to us getting turned around and then lost.”

“I’m suddenly very glad I didn’t have to go through one of these,” Warriors murmurs as they reach the door.

Legend stretches a hand out and lightly touches the door, watching as it shakes and then shoots up into the wall much like the other one. He briefly wonders how it works. “This would be better with a map, but don’t worry, we’ll manage without one. Temples aren’t _so_ bad. At least, not all the time.”

“That isn’t really comforting,” Warriors huffs.

“What makes these things _suck_ are what monsters you find and maybe a difficult puzzle or two. You, alone, fix the first problem.”

“Why thank you! I didn’t know you were capable of such compliments.”

“Don’t get used to it.”

But as the two traverse deeper into the temple, they fail to notice the blood dripping from the body of one of their companions in a cage suspended above their line of sight, the blood slowly oozing from giant scratches in his limbs and chest. One lucky droplet slips through the steel wires acting as a floor and hits the stone ground below, its plea echoing off the walls and attracting no aid.

* * *

“Hey, Legend,” Warriors calls from behind. Legend stops walking and turns back, his lantern casting long shadows behind him.

“What?”

“Bring the lantern over here real quick.”

Frowning, Legend decides to humor the captain by letting his curiosity lead him to his crouching companion’s side. He lowers the lantern at Warriors’s beckoning and grimaces at the sight before him.

Staining the stone is a patch of blood accented by little tatters of fabric that are all different colors. Warriors looks up at him, a grim expression on his face.

“It’s fresh.”

That’s all Legend needed to hear. He immediately throws open his bag and yanks out the Tornado rod all while glaring at the ledge blocking them from the elevated part of the room. He barely remembers to grab Warriors’s arm and hook his lantern to his belt before he presses the button, the wind surging around them and effortlessly lifting their bodies just high enough to reach the top of the ledge. Legend storms on as Warriors scrambles to reorient himself, surprised and looking a little queasy at the sudden motion.

Fresh blood and colorful fabric? Legend doesn’t like the path his thoughts are going down, but he can’t help but think of the others. Considering where they are, it’s likely the blood and fabric came from one of his companions, which means someone is injured and he _doesn’t know where they are._

Legend doesn’t even remember striding through the next door with Warriors hot on his heels. His attention is caught by the clear scuff marks on the old stone and the droplets of blood around it. Warriors lets out a curse at the sight, but Legend’s brisk pace turns into a dash up the stairs, heart pounding in his chest with panic slowly starting to sink in.

But when he reaches the top of the stairs, all his forced calmness carefully built up over the years to keep him steady collapses under the weight of sheer horror.

It’s not the battle torn room, it’s not the charred body of a moblin, it’s not the broken glass and smoldering embers, it’s not the floating lantern or the grotesque and bloody moblin holding Four’s sword.

It’s the blank purple eyes surrounded by black veins on a familiar face, a face belonging to a person Legend has grown unbearably fond of.

Hyrule stands in the battle-torn room, his sword in hand with the tip coated in blood. Minor cuts and burns dot his face, specifically around his eyes and cheeks.

And the mask floating above his head… the _poe_ lets out a loud cackle, Hyrule jerking into attention in response.

“Holy fuck,” Warriors breathes from his place beside Legend.

Purple eyes meet his blue, devoid of any emotion, any _life_ , yet fierce and scathing, pinning Legend in place and sending ice cold chills down his spine.

The poe bellows something, and then Hyrule is walking toward them, steps meticulous and _so_ different from how he normally walks. His eyes are fixed on Legend, his sword raised and poised to swing the second he gets close enough.

Warriors readies his own weapon, side-eyeing Legend. “How long do you think you can distract him?” He asks, calm and steady but with a lilt in his voice that one would have to listen for to know that Warriors is actually scared _shitless_ right now. When Legend doesn’t immediately answer, he growls, “I need an answer _today_ , Legend!”

But Legend can’t tear his eyes away from his friend. His feet are frozen to the ground, his hands shake, his breath catches in his throat. Those eyes bore into his own, nothing like the kind green ones he’s grown accustomed to.

“Link!” Warriors’s voice cuts through his trance like a knife through butter.

That’s right. After going by Legend for months now, he had nearly forgotten just what his name _means_ now.

_“I’m **nothing**. So why do you care so much? What do you want? What am I worth to you?”_

_You’re worth everything to me,_ Legend’s thoughts cry out. _You’re a child who needs help, a boy who has too much weight on his shoulders._

Legend’s hands curl into fists. _You’re a boy who needs a hero to save you. I won’t fail you again._

He tears his eyes away from the body of his friend and meets Warriors’s gaze. “I can hold him off,” he says. Warriors nods.

“Then I’ll take care of the moblin and the poe. Keep Hyrule distracted for as long as you can.”

Legend nods back, but then draws in a sharp breath, as if remembering something. He digs through his pouch and grabs a few of his silver arrows, shoving them and the lantern for good measure into Warriors’s hands with a quick, “Use these.”

With that, Warriors sprints away while Legend draws his sword and takes a deep breath, forcing himself to look back at Hyrule. Hyrule stops walking forward, watching as Warriors unhooks his bow and nocks an arrow, aiming for the moblin.

“He’s the least of your concerns,” Legend snarks, grabbing the poe’s—and by extension, Hyrule’s—attention once more. “You have to deal with me first, and I’m quite the pain in the ass.”

Never mind the fact that he’s panicking. Never mind the fact that this is the _last_ thing he wants to do. Never mind the fact that he feels _sick_ from raising his blade towards Hyrule—sweet, kind, broken _Hyrule_.

This is something he _has_ to do, or otherwise it’s only going to end badly.

The poe lets out a screech, and then Hyrule raises his sword at Legend. An orange light gathers around his hand and his weapon, at first a mere glow before strengthening into flames. Hyrule swings his weapon, fire spewing forward and directly for Legend in a wide fan. He throws up his shield just in time for the flames to make contact and bounce back toward their castor.

But his trick doesn’t work. The flames do nothing to Hyrule, seemingly repelling his body as he charges with his sword raised and still aflame. Legend rears up to meet him, their swords crying out in defiance as steel meets steel. Hyrule twists, stealing the offensive before Legend can do anything and launching into an onslaught of attacks that leave Legend scrambling to keep up. His footwork is sloppy, but he’s so fast and every swing has unfathomable power behind it. Legend’s arms begin to ache from all the blocking he’s doing, and he knows he will not be able to keep this up for long.

But the only way out of this is to fight back.

Hyrule lands another harsh blow on his shield, and his arm flares up in pain, protesting against the abuse both from himself and Hyrule. He needs to find a weakness to exploit, a way to subdue him before either of them get hurt.

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Warriors struggling to deal with the transparent poe. Looks like he’s on his own.

With a growl, Legend meets Hyrule’s blade with his own once more, the guards interlocking. He tries to twists them, to shake Hyrule’s grip loose, but his friend clings on stubbornly, pushing against Legend with a strength that’s not his own. Above him, the mask cackles, sounding like nails on a chalkboard—

Wait a minute.

Legend springs away, creating distance between them as Hyrule recovers from the loss of Legend’s weight and stumbles. The mask screeches, angrily bobbing up and down. Just as he suspected; it’s not transparent. The poe controlling his friend… what if he breaks the mask? Hyrule flings a boomerang at him, but Legend deflects it with his shield. If he can get his sword close enough to land a hit on the mask, it’ll shatter into pieces.

With no other options, Legend lets Hyrule come to him, eyes narrowed and watching every move carefully, sword and shield held tightly in his hands. Hyrule charges him again, sword held in both hands and body lowered.

Legend expected him to jump, but he didn’t expect him to jump _that high_. Uttering a curse, Legend flings himself to the side in a roll, barely escaping what would have been a nasty wound. The sharp _clang_ resulting from Hyrule’s sword slamming against the stone ground echoes in his ears as Legend scrambles to his feet to block another swing.

Hyrule spins away from Legend’s own swing, sending another burst of fire his way. Legend throws up his shield, but just as the fire is repelled, it’s nearly wrenched from his hand by a well-placed slash. Hyrule breaks his guard, and Legend is forced to scurry back before he’s sliced in half by the next swing.

_Fuck!_ Hyrule is a _lot_ stronger than Legend thought he would be, especially with janky movements and poor footing. Legend almost goes for an item, but one, he might severely injure his friend and that would be the opposite of what he wants to accomplish and two, Hyrule isn’t giving him any room to retaliate. Swing after swing after _swing_ , Hyrule’s onslaught keeps Legend locked in a state of _defend defend defend!_ Lightning crackles around Hyrule form, and Legend rears back as it shoots forward, extremely grateful for his shield. He’s _never_ getting rid of this thing.

But he hadn’t realized he had played right into Hyrule’s hands.

Hyrule’s sword catches his shield _just right_ , Legend’s grip failing as it’s ripped from his hand. It flies away, leaving Legend’s guard wide open and far easier to break.

With only his sword, Legend dodges the next slice and lashes back, aiming to injure _at most_. He can’t sit here and let Hyrule bang against his defenses. He’s not tiring whatsoever and Legend can’t keep this up.

His eyes fall on the poe. He needs to get rid of _that_ first.

Hyrule snarls something unintelligible as Legend steals the offensive all while the poe screeches in anger.

_This isn’t an enemy,_ Legend tells himself as he aims for Hyrule’s arms and sides. _He’s not the enemy_ , Legend repeats as he slices Hyrule’s shoulder open with the very tip of his blade. _The enemy is controlling him,_ Legend growls as Hyrule’s sword glows with the power of flames. Hyrule swings his sword again, sending fire his way once more, and without a shield, Legend isn’t quick enough to dodge the fire. His left shoulder and arm pay the price, his skin crying out in pain as the flames easily tear through the cloth of his tunic. Legend sees white for a split second, and he bites the inside of his cheek only to taste blood in his mouth.

But Hyrule is heaving for breath, the poe thrashing above his head, undoubtedly trying to get him to cooperate. Hyrule isn’t very responsive, staggering a few steps forward with his sword clumsily held out. Legend waits, playing up his pain, lowering his guard as Hyrule approaches, praying he’s not too obvious.

Hyrule raises his sword high when he gets close enough to Legend, leaving himself wide open.

Taking the opportunity granted to him, Legend lashes out with a sharp kick, the heel of his foot connecting with Hyrule’s stomach. He stumbles back from the blow, keeling over and wrapping an arm around his stomach. Legend doesn’t give him a chance to recover. He rides the momentum, raising his sword high in both hands, legs pumping as he charges, eyes locked on the poe possessing his friend—!

A red barrier stops his sword, resulting in a sad _ting_ instead of the poe’s panicked screeching like he had hoped for. Before he can process what had just happened, agony explodes in his abdomen, making him gasp and lose his grip on his sword. He stumbles back as Hyrule pushes forward, arms lowering so his hands can wrap around the blade of the sword currently buried in his body.

Hyrule looks up at him, purple eyes narrowed with flecks of green flickering in and out. Legend lets out an involuntary whimper as Hyrule shoves the sword even _further_ in. His hands do nothing to stop it, the sharp edges easily slicing through his skin, but he tightens his grip nonetheless, blood slicking his fingers.

Green flickers amongst purple. Legend gasps for air, his knees wobbling, shoulders trembling, eyes as wide as they could possibly be. The poe cackles and _cackles_ as Legend locks eyes with Hyrule, seeing a familiar gleam in the blank stare.

“D-don’t give up,” Legend rasps before his legs give out. Hyrule merely watches as Legend slides off his weapon, limbs going numb, body not responding as he falls to the ground in a heap.

_I won't fail you again... I'm such a lair..._

Meanwhile, still locked away in his own head, Hyrule registers _pain_.

It’s enough to jolt him out of his trance, for the voices to falter and grow faint. They keep whispering, over and over, trying to lure back into the pure nothingness in order to… to what? What’s going on?

Hyrule feels his own hand dig into his hair and _tug_ , and that’s such a startling sensation that his nonexistent form freezes. He can _feel_ that, he can feel the blood on his hands, he can feel his body aching from all the strain it’s been put through, he can feel the crushing exhaustion that comes with having no magic left.

_What did I do?_

Hyrule clings to it, feeling his body jerk in response. He tries to wiggle his fingers, but they don’t obey his command. Why won’t his body listen to him? The voices grow frantic, the whispering nearly deafening despite being so faint, but he pushes past it, blocking it out in favor of focusing on the fact that his body stumbled right then and there. Was that him? It should be, considering its _his_ body, but why can’t he do anything else? He keeps trying to move, hoping to invoke even the _slightest_ twitch of his own doing.

Pain explodes in the back of his head, and suddenly he can see the world spinning and blurring. And yet, Hyrule continues to worm his way back into his own body, clawing for a hold—any hold! He doesn’t find much, but he feels _something_ press down on his lower back, feels a hand grab his left arm and hold it down, feels a spike of pain when the his head turns without his consent, one side pressed into the cool stone.

Warriors looms over him, obviously terrified but keeping up a calm and collected façade, and Hyrule realizes belatedly that he can _see_ him. 

Why is he so scared? Better yet, why can Hyrule _feel blood on his hands?_ What happened? What did he do? Who’s blood is that? Why can’t he _move?_

The light of a lantern invokes a shock of pure, unadulterated _fear_ that does not belong to him. As Warriors lowers it closer and closer to his face, something _shrieks_ , and his body starts thrashing on its own accord as he feels what’s akin to needles jabbing into every inch of his skin. Warriors snarls something, but Hyrule can’t make it out over the caterwauling of… of whatever that is.

But despite the pain, Hyrule finds more freedom, and he pushes onward. He hears his own screams as the light burns the darkness within, the voices clinging to him screeching louder and louder with every passing second. He tastes and smells the blood in his mouth and on the ground. His hands clench into fists when he tells them too, though it takes an enormous amount of effort.

“Get the _fuck_ out of his head,” Warriors bellows, and Hyrule feels something other than pain and confusion: _panic. What is in my head? What is going on? What happened to me? How is Warriors here? Was I not with Four?_

And then he feels it: dark and tainted magic binding to his own, sinking into his skin like claws. He can feel the way it desperately tries to overpower him, how it bats at Hyrule and tries to lock him away again, but it’s grown so weak, so _tired_. Hyrule isn’t much better off, but with Warriors on his side, that dark magic is fighting a losing battle.

And yet, it latches on, fighting and fighting even as it screeches in agony. The light _burns_ , but the pain is giving him more and more freedom as it gradually drags him from the clinging nothingness. It hurts—it hurts so _so_ bad, but he can’t let it stop. He can’t—

If Hyrule had the ability to, he would have gasped.

_That’s it._

Hyrule lifts _his_ head off the stone ground, feeling the snarl on his face curl his lips as the magic _refuses_ to be shaken off.

But that’s alright. Hyrule lifts his head higher, craning his neck, praying Warriors doesn’t try to restrain him. The magic lashes out, tries to fight him. It knows what Hyrule is attempting and it’s trying to stop him before it’s too late.

Unfortunately for it, Hyrule is growing stronger and stronger. And they both know that it will only take one more burst of pain to free himself.

Hyrule slams his head against the ground, and the world goes black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *loud innocent whistling*


	3. Hitting Rock Bottom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HahAAAA!!  
> 11k words BABEY!!  
> And I’m only a day late lol  
> So, a couple things:  
> Please keep in mind that this fic is Mature, and not intended for kids. I am not responsible if you cannot handle the content I am writing about. Please heed my warning.  
> Trigger Warnings that contain massive spoilers are at the end of the chapter if you want to check them. Again, they contain massive spoilers, which is why they are not in the tags.  
> I hope you enjoy!!

His head throbs.

It feels strangely empty as Hyrule slowly wakes, but the pain is insistent, spiking when he barely moves. His chest rumbles with a groan as he tries to open his eyes. His arms are so very heavy and moving them only sends waves of pain throughout his body. He feels drained, _exhausted_ , as if all his energy was wrung out of his body like wringing water out of a towel.

A hand rests on his shoulder, and Hyrule forces his eyes to open fully. Wild looms over him, a relieved smile on his face that’s soured by the fear he fails to mask. He looks shaken, which is a feat considering it’s _Wild_.

His mouth moves, as if he’s saying something, but Hyrule hears nothing. Another hand greatly brushes back his hair from his forehead, but that only serves to startle Hyrule, pressing back against the hard ground and looking for the owner of the second hand. He finds Twilight sitting behind him, and he realizes belatedly that his head and shoulders are in his lap.

Much like with Wild, Twilight’s mouth moves, but no words reach Hyrule’s ears. His head continues to throb as he stares blankly at them. What happened? Why are they doing that? Why do they look so distressed? Why can’t he remember anything? The last thing he remembers is—

Is the fire from the lantern the ghost threw onto the ground.

And suddenly, he feels _sick_. His stomach churns with nausea, a chill banishes the comfortable warmth from Twilight, fear overtakes the confusion. Hyrule tries to sit up, but Wild and Twilight stop him, hands gently pushing him back down, mouths moving with no words being spoken and _goddesses above, what happened to him?_

“What’s going on?” He tries to ask, only to discover that while he _knows_ he’s speaking, he can’t hear his own words. Wild’s mouth moves, but no words reach his ears. _Nothing_ reaches his ears, only silence. As hard as he tries to strain his ears to pick up even the _slightest_ noise, he has no results.

His heart pounds in his chest as he tries to raise a hand to his ear. Twilight stops him, speaking once more, and yet there’s _nothing_. Hyrule tries to speak again, tries to ask what happened, where he is, why this is happening, and _still nothing oh no oh goddesses above this can't be happening no no no—_

He can't hear. No, no, no! Twilight runs a hand through his hair, speaking to him but Hyrule can't _hear_ him! Why can't he hear? His head hurts so much and he'll never see them coming if he can't hear their footsteps in the dark! Sight is _nothing_ when he is lost in the labyrinths, trapped underneath the earth and _lost lost lost so lost—_

Wild’s hands let go of his own, moving to cup his face. He says something again, and Hyrule lets out a bitter laugh at his attempts to make him understand.

"I can't hear you," He thinks he says. “I can't hear you, I can't hear you...”

He sees Wild and Twilight exchange a glance above his head, fear and worry banishing the weak relief and forced calmness. The hands pull away, and Hyrule almost wants to pull them back, missing the warmth, the comfort. In the next instant, Wild is gone and Twilight is shifting him. Hyrule tries to fully sit up once more, desperate to get a clear look around, but Twilight holds him close, far stronger than Hyrule could hope to be, and that thought is not reassuring in the _slightest._

  
“What did I do?” He tries to ask, hoping that his words are not just a jumbled mess of sounds. “Where are they?” His throat clenches as heat pools in his cheeks and under his eyes. “Are th-they okay?”

Twilight’s chest rumbles as he speaks, and yet…

  
How did it come to this? Hyrule grasps the arm circled around his chest, nails digging into the pale skin. He wracks his mind for anything to tell him what _happened_ , but everything is distorted, blurry, or just not _there_. He remembers getting knocked down, he remembers the ghost throwing the lantern and creating a fire, he remembers Four calling his name, but then everything goes black.

And now he’s here, unable to hear anything, his magic exhausted, a feeling of _wrongness_ buried in his chest, next to the newly formed cavity that shouldn’t be there, yet feels so empty.

  
There’s a gap in his memory, and clearly something _terrible_ occurred during that time.

  
His head continues to throb. Hyrule presses his hand to his temple, only for a spike of pain to make its presence known, lighting his mind on fire and destroying any thoughts he had prior. When did his head get hit? Where are the others? Why is Twilight here? He was with Four… right?

A hand tugs on his wrist, pulling his fingers from where they were fisted in his hair—when did he do that? He opens his eyes to see Wild kneeling before him, a bottle in his free hand.

The world swims around him as Wild forces the bottle into his grasp. He blinks, slowly and lazily, as Wild helps him drink the red concoction within—it tastes terrible, and he can’t help but wonder why Wild is making him drink this.

His head continues to throb. Why is it throbbing?

Hands lie him down on a warm lap, and Hyrule lets them adjust him as they please. His head hurts more and more with each movement, and he tries to say something to make them stop but nothing comes out. Soon enough, they pull away, and Hyrule opens his eyes just enough to squint up at Twilight, meeting those grey-blue eyes that twinkle with a concern he can’t understand.

Is this even real? Everything is so fuzzy, and he can’t hear anything at all. Twilight looks heartbroken, and it’s such an unnatural look to him that Hyrule is convinced none of this is real.

No, it can’t be real. This is just a bad dream. No wonder he doesn’t remember what happened before; everything is made up.

His head continues to throb. Twilight looks away, his lip quivering, the hand nestled in Hyrule’s hair utterly still.

* * *

_  
The hidden village of Kasuto is empty as Hyrule walks its streets. Eyes track his every movement, peering from dark alleys, tinted windows, cracked open doorways. Their gazes burn with disgust, anger, hatred, seeping into his skin, settling into his chest, wrapping wiry fingers around his heart._

_His skin crawls with the feeling of danger as he walks, hands tense but remaining at his sides._

_“You’re nothing but a bad omen, boy.”_

_The old man rocks his rotting wooden chair, crinkled eyes locking Hyrule into place._

_“You call yourself a hero?”_

_Hyrule takes a step back, a hand going to grip the hilt of his sword only to discover it wasn’t there._

_“Do you think you are worthy of that title?” Zelda sneers, standing up from the chair and stalking towards him._

_Hyrule’s legs wobble as he takes another step back, alarm bells singing their song of warning._

_“Is **this** what a hero does?” Zelda yells, waving a hand at the war-torn buildings, the bodies strewn across the ground, the bloodied weapons in the hands of prowling monsters._

_Thunder rumbles from above, the sky a dark, foreboding purple, lightning flowing through the clouds like water through a river._

_“You could have saved us,” Zelda hisses, and Hyrule nods._

_“I know.”_

_“You had every opportunity to,” she growls, and he ducks his head._

_“I know.”_

_“Then why didn’t you do anything?” Legend bellows, a rough hand connecting with Hyrule’s shoulder and sending him toppling to the ground. He’s forced to look up at his predecessor as he looms above him, icy eyes ablaze with fury, lip curled as he snarls, “Everything I worked for is **gone**. And **you** let it happen! You **chose** for things to be this way! **Why?** ”_

_“I— I don’t—“_

_“You’re **cursed** ,” Legend scoffs. “You’re a monster, just like the rest of them.”_

_“I—“_

_“You destroy everything you touch.”_

_“No—“_

_“You’re a bad omen!”_

_“S-stop—“_

_“You will kill everyone!”_

_You will kill everyone…_

**_You will kill everyone…_ **

_“Hyrule, stop.”_

_There’s blood on his sword, voices in his ears, magic encircling his fingers._

_“It’s trying to control you. Don’t let it.”_

_Someone whimpers, but he doesn’t know who. There’s blood on his hands, warm and sticky. His magic rears its head like a snake, flashing its fangs as a warning to the power that dwells within._

_“Come back to yourself!”_

_Something **dark** laughs and cackles, playing with him as if he were a puppet. It’s latched onto something in his chest, tracing veins and bones and muscles with its strings. It drags him away from everything he’s ever known, whispering nothings into his ears as it does so._

_“Get the **fuck** out of his head!”_

Hyrule jolts upright, his throat burning and his head pounding. His hands claw at his scalp, latching onto his hair and _pulling_ as he tries to shut the voices out, tries to hide from the eyes that burn his skin, tries to make it all stop because he didn’t know what else he was supposed to do! He did what he was told to do and ruined everything for everyone, and—!

Hands grip his wrists, and Hyrule’s eyes fly open. Warriors stares back at him, blue eyes glimmering with concern, mouth open and trying to speak to him.

But there are eyes on him, burning through his clothes, through his skin, gazing upon every part of himself and seeing all that he has done, all that he has become, and Hyrule doesn’t _bother_ to try and listen to what Warriors is saying. He pulls his hands away from Warriors’ gentle grip and instead surges forward, throwing his arms around his shoulders and pressing his face into his collar. He feels Warriors jolt back, feels his breath catch in his chest, but then arms gently curl around his shoulders and back, pulling him closer to the comforting warmth of another body.

The tears come unbidden, and when Hyrule tries to pull away, Warriors only tightens his hold, a hand raising to card through his hair. Even though Hyrule wouldn’t be able to hear him, Warriors’ message is as clear as day: _I’m here for you._

So Hyrule gives in. He lets himself break, he lets the tears soak Warriors’ undershirt, he lets Warriors rock him, and he lets the burning gazes fall away one by one as a blue scarf wraps around him like a shield.

Meanwhile, Warriors cradles Hyrule close, a chill crawling up his spine as the other hero sobs against his chest. He’s trembling, fingers digging into his shoulders, burying himself into Warriors’ arms and scarf. He’s trying to hide, but from what? And that scream… what kind of dream would elicit such a cry so similar to when he had been possessed?

Warriors looks up from the bundle in his hold and meets Sky’s gaze, his own concern reflected in the other’s eyes. He sits next to Four, who is nearly covered head-to-toe in bandages that are slowly becoming stained with blood. He was the last one found, and Warriors wanted to kick himself for being so blind beforehand. Wind had found him in a suspended cage, deep gashes in his torso, and in the same room as the creepy sun statue Warriors and Legend had found. They passed right below him while trying to navigate the temple, completely oblivious to their mortally wounded friend.

And speaking of Legend…

Warriors turns his gaze to where Legend is sprawled out on his back, Wild watching over him with a careful eye. Severe burns coupled with a stab wound left Legend nearly dead by the time Warriors had subdued Hyrule.

(He would never get the image of Hyrule slamming his own head against the ground out of his mind—nor the _sound_ it made.)

Everything had been a blur. Warriors had ripped his green tunic to _shreds_ in order to keep Legend alive long enough for Sky, Twilight, and Time to show up. He had felt sick to his stomach when he had to restrain Hyrule by tying his arms behind his back with his scarf.

(He couldn’t take any chances. He couldn’t risk Hyrule attacking him even after he saw the poe fly away with an agonized screech, even after he saw Hyrule go utterly still aside from his faint, irregular breathing.)

But now comes the hard part. Warriors could at least do _something_ , even if he was in a blind panic as he darted between Hyrule and Legend nonstop, frantically checking them over and over while desperately trying to think of a better way to secure them. Now, however, he is powerless. Now, he has to sit here and _wait_ , hoping that his friends will recover just fine despite the injuries they’ve sustained. They have exhausted their supplies, nothing but bandages and a stamina potion remaining.

Wind tells them that his home isn’t far from here, as they are deep within the depths of what he calls the Earth Temple, but none of them have a ship handy, and no way to get one. There’s nothing they can do but wait, and nobody who can help them except for themselves.

And with Hyrule in this state, Warriors suspects that they will not walk away from this without a permanent drawback or two. From what Twilight and Wild had told them, Hyrule is deaf and they have no idea if it’s permanent or not. Wild said he has experienced something similar once while on his journey, but after relaying his story to his Zelda, he discovered that he had been lucky to get back the full use of his hearing after cracking his head on a Stone Talus.

And Hyrule isn’t the only one. Four was electrocuted, lightning feathers crawling up his arms with spindly fingers being all the proof they need. Coupled with the gashes—presumably from a Wallmaster, according to Wind—in his chest, Four is in an extremely fragile state. And Legend isn’t better off, housing a deep stab wound that broke the skin of his abdomen and passed through his body until it protruded from his back, fingers sliced open to the bone, and severe burns on his left shoulder and arm. They at least know he will live.

Warriors directs his attention back to Hyrule, who has since stilled in his arms and appears to have fallen into a fitful sleep once more. Does he even know what happened? Does he remember?

Do they _want_ him to remember what he did to Legend? What he might have done to Four? What he did to _himself_?

It’s probably for the best that they tell Hyrule everything but… the poor kid is so delirious. The first time he woke up, he thought everything was made up, that it was all a bad dream—and poor Twilight looked ready to shatter into a million pieces, he was so upset—and now he’s trying to hide from an invisible enemy. Warriors pulls him even closer, practically pulling the kid into his lap as he rests his cheek on the crown of his head, careful to avoid the swelling in his left temple.

Sky scurries over to him, footsteps light and quick. He kneels beside them, icy eyes fixed on Hyrule’s mop of brown hair before flicking up to look at Warriors.

“He’s not normally keen on touch,” he murmurs, fully sitting down beside Warriors.

“I know,” Warriors hums. “I can only imagine what that poe did to him. He’s deaf, delirious, and exhausted.”

“Let’s hope his mind isn’t shattered as well,” Sky mumbles, pressing into Warriors’s side. With a heavy sigh, Warriors adjusts himself so he can wrap an arm around Sky’s shoulders and pull him in, forming a cocoon around their friend in hopes of healing both him and themselves.

_Let’s hope indeed._

* * *

“H-how much longer is t-this going to t-take?” Legend chokes out, biting down a whimper.

“I’ll be done in a minute,” Wild murmurs, hands gently guiding a bandage around his abdomen. “Hang in there. You’re okay.”

Legend bites down on his lip, fighting the urge to curl his hands into fists or grip Wild’s shoulder as he works on changing Legend’s bandages. His wound flares up in pain, shrieking at every little touch or movement, and Legend has to fight down every whimper, cry, and scream that threatens to burst from his chest. This would be so much easier if he could just _grab something_ , but his hands can’t take any more damage in this state or he might lose their functionality.

“One last loop,” Wild states, and Legend is ready to weep in relief as Wild works on securing the bandages just tight enough so they will not come undone. He tastes blood on his lip as Wild finally— _finally_ —pulls away to study his face.

“You are _hardcore_ ,” he mutters, which is enough of a surprise for Legend to momentarily forget his pain to bark out a laugh.

“You think so?” He croaks out, wincing at his own voice. He sounds terrible, as if he screamed until he lost his voice.

Wild snorts. “Normally people groan or whimper or even cry when they’re being patched up. You didn’t do any of that. Only your voice wavered.”

Legend has to look away from those piercing eyes at that, not liking where this conversation is heading. “Yeah, well, sometimes people have a higher tolerance for pain.”

“Or they’ve gotten used to this kind of pain,” Wild dryly remarks, nodding at the various scars scattered on his chest. Some are old, white, and faded. Others are newer, a faint pink and with clear indentations. ”How many times have you had to patch yourself up with nobody around?”

“I can count on one hand the number of times I was patched up by someone else,” Legend snarks, feeling brave enough to look up at Wild through his bangs. “You’re number two, in case you were wondering.”

The one other time had been when Ravio found him in the Sanctuary, right before he essentially took over his house and made him rent various items when he should have had them for free. The freeloading _bastard._

“You’re as bad as I am!” Wild teases, gently taking Legend’s right hand in his own and beginning to peel away the bandages protecting his fingers. “And that’s saying a lot!”

“Hey, I don’t commit _arson_! I’m not at your level!”

“That was _one time_!”

“ _Bullshit._ ”

“… Okay, _two_ times, but that was an accident!”

Legend laughs, the sound bubbling from his chest and much sweeter than the one he barked out mere minutes ago. While his stomach protests against the action, his wound especially letting him know how much his happiness hurts, Wild’s absurdity is too much. Wild grins at him, eyes twinkling with a knowing gleam as he works on Legend’s hand.

“How— _ow_ —how are the others?” Legend asks once the giggles have died down.

Wild sobers up, taking a moment to pick at the bandages before uttering, “Four is still unconscious, Time’s arm is healing up nicely, and Hyrule is… getting there.”

Legend winces. That scream mere hours ago had made Legend want to both find his distraught friend and give him the comfort he needed, and crawl into a hole and rot away. He so desperately wants to reach out, to talk to Hyrule, to rekindle what was lost, but…

He hasn’t had a chance to personally check up on him. They don’t know what he remembers, what he doesn’t remember, or what state his mentality is in. They only know what Warriors told them: that he was possessed by a poe and attacked Legend.

But they found Four’s sword in the hands of a moblin in the same room they had found Hyrule. And then they found Four in a cage with gashes in his chest and lightning feathers going up his arms. Wind told them that there are very few monsters that have the power of electricity at their disposal, and none of them reside within the Earth Temple.

And Legend, Wild, and Warriors know that Hyrule has the ability to use magic without any items.

It’s a sickening thought, and Legend would love to jump at any opportunity to say otherwise, but the pieces fit. There’s no other explanation that could be made. There are no monsters that hail from other time periods in this temple, and they know Hyrule was not afraid to attack Legend while possessed.

“Define “getting there” would you?” Legend drawls, his stomach churning with nausea. Wild ducks his head, bangs hanging low and covering his eyes.

“He’s coherent,” Wild begins, his voice soft and low, “but he still can’t hear, and he’s very fidgety. He won’t leave Warriors’ side for anything.”

Legend sighs through his nose, eyes locked on his marred hands as Wild unrolls a new set of bandages. “I need to see him,” He states.

Wild stiffens. “Legend—“

“I know, I know,” Legend replies flippantly, waving his free hand. “He’s in an incredibly fragile state right now, I _know,_ but do you think isolating him from the others is a good idea?”

Wild doesn’t reply, so Legend takes that as a sign to continue.

“Hyrule cares about us,” Legend says. “He won’t leave Warriors’ side because he’s probably afraid he’ll lose him.”

He recalls how Hyrule had reacted when he thought Legend was injured and bleeding. He recalls how panicked he had been, how he threw all logic out the window and instead focused on Legend and Legend alone. He recalls how often Hyrule would be described as shy and reclusive, yet be completely lax around Legend and even engage in a conversation with him from time to time.

But he also recalls their argument, how bitter Hyrule had been. He recalls how Hyrule spilled everything to him and then proceeded to avoid him like the plague.

Not that Legend was any better.

But there’s a time and place for everything. If Legend can get Hyrule to understand that he is not alone and that Legend will be there for him no matter what, that may just be the push he needs to proceed down the road to recovery.

“We can’t sit here and wait, Wild, and you know it.” Legend narrows his eyes, looking through Wild’s bangs in an attempt to find his eyes. “I need to see him.”

* * *

  
Hyrule can feel the air lightly brush against his temple as Warriors snaps his fingers in front of his ear, but there’s no result. It feels as if his entire ear has been clogged up with cotton, settling deep within his head and obstructing all sound that tries to breach it. Hyrule fights the urge to pick at his ears, knowing that there’s nothing he can do except make it worse.

Warriors tilts his head, raising an eyebrow. _Anything?_

Hyrule doesn’t need to shake his head, as Warriors already knows the answer. Shame coils in the pit of his stomach, embarrassment all too happy to join it and make Hyrule fight the urge to squirm in place under Warriors’ gaze. Goddesses above, he wish he knew what happened, but nobody will tell him anything. And with Warriors constantly giving him this pitying look, constantly being far too gentle with him instead of his usual jabs and teases is only making Hyrule panic even more.

Not to mention the absence of Four and Legend. Why he hasn’t seen them, Hyrule doesn’t know, and the answers his mind conjures up when left idle for too long grow worse and worse each time.

He knows he’s stronger than this, that he’s handled darker thoughts without blinking an eye, and yet…

There’s something about not knowing exactly what occurred that’s driving him _crazy_. And there’s something about being dependent on another that’s invoking a feeling of wrongness within, and despite that, Hyrule can’t bring himself to leave Warriors’ side. Right now, he’s _safe_ with Warriors, and he can trust the other hero to help him when he needs it, even if it leaves a bitter taste in the back of his throat.

And even if he will always feel a trickle of shame run down his spine and settle in his gut whenever he looks at the other, knowing that Warriors saw him at his weakest and most fragile. He’s sure the others saw everything too, especially Sky, but there is something more personal and _real_ when it comes to Warriors, who is everything Hyrule will never be.

But before Hyrule can get lost in his whirling thoughts, a hand gently ruffles his hair, and Hyrule glowers as Warriors smirks. But then his eyes flick past Hyrule, and his smile wavers ever so slightly. It’s enough for Hyrule to turn around, dislodging the hand in his hair.

His blood runs cold.

Legend limps over to them, wearing what has to be one of Time’s nighttime shirts, as the fabric hangs from his shoulders and looks more like his tunic than an actual shirt. He has a hand pressed to his side— _it’s a bit lumpy there, which could mean bandages?_ —and a pained grimace on his face souring his strained smile. Along his left arm are more bandages, and beneath his eyes are dark circles.

He looks… terrible, to say the least.

And as he walks over, Hyrule’s emotions flip-flop between mind-numbing panic and blissful elation. The last time he conversed with Legend, Hyrule had let everything he had bundled up and locked away come loose, spill from his heart and hurt both himself and his friend. And then, like a fool, Hyrule did nothing to try and settle the matter. He let the hurt and anger and bitterness pile up and up, furthering the gap between them.

But at the same time… Legend is _here_ , walking towards him, injured but _alive_ and…

What… what _happened_ to him?

Legend sits down on his left, his hand moving away from his side to support him as he leans back on it. He and Warriors exchange a few words—and the bitterness surrounding his loss of hearing only strengthens the more they don’t tell him anything—but then Warriors gives him a sad, bittersweet smile before standing up and walking away.

Hyrule wants to call him back, beg for him to stay, to not leave him alone, to tell him what’s going on, but the words catch in his throat and stick, determined to not be shaken loose.

Legend puts a hand on his shoulder, prompting Hyrule to turn his way. Icy eyes search his face, carefully blank, absorbing every detail available, and Hyrule feels his skin crawl under the gaze. He fights the urge to fidget, to shrug his hand off, to duck his head, and for a moment Hyrule thinks he’s going to cave and widen the gap between them even more.

But then Legend’s eyes well up with unshed tears.

All the anxiety, all the worry, all the discomfort, everything washes away as Hyrule goes lax in shock. Legend doesn’t give him much time to process, as he slithers an arm around his shoulders and tugs him closer until their foreheads are pressed together, and Hyrule can feel Legend _shaking_ , can feel the stuttered breath brush against his face.

_I’m sorry_ , Legend’s actions cry.

“What did I do?” Hyrule tries to ask, reaching up to clasp the hand on his shoulder in his own—also covered in bandages. Legend squeezes it like it’s his lifeline, and he feels the other take a deep breath before he pulls away just enough for Hyrule to see him gesture with his free hand to his abdomen, where he had been clutching while he was walking over.

Is he…

Hyrule blinks, a seed of utter horror taking root within the pit of his stomach. It proceeds to sprout as Legend holds out his left arm, nodding at the bandages going up his arm and disappearing under the sleeve of the baggy shirt he’s wearing.

No…

No, no, that… that can’t be right… why would _he_ be the cause of… of all that?

He wouldn’t hurt Legend!

And yet… Legend is telling him that he did. Legend is telling him that he was the cause of these injuries.

And there’s a gap in his memory.

Is it possible that…?

No…

He wouldn’t! Right?

Legend watches him carefully, rubbing soothing circles into his shoulder as Hyrule gapes at him.

There’s a gap in his memory…

Oh goddesses above…

Those bandages on his hands, the ones going up his left arm, the way he was holding his stomach, the dark circles under his eyes, his grimace, the _limping_ …

**_I_ ** _did that to him…_

“Please,” Hyrule whimpers, not knowing how raspy his voice is, not knowing how thick the utter _fear_ is in his tone, not knowing how shaky his words are. “Please tell me... What happened?”

Legend does nothing at first, simply taking in the black lines still mapping out his face like poisonous veins, taking in the swelling in his left temple, taking in the way he’s trembling and doesn’t even realize it.

But then he pulls Hyrule back in, his hand slipping from Hyrule’s to cradle the back of his head. Hyrule presses his face into his collar, hands clutching at his loose shirt as Legend tightens his hold, squeezing his eyes shut in a vain attempt to stop his tears.

“I’m sorry,” Hyrule whimpers. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…”

“You did nothing wrong,” Legend whispers into deaf ears. “You did nothing wrong at all.”

The ever growing gap between them suddenly halts as bridges are made, linking the two back together and reinforcing the unbreakable bond that connects them to one another. Two heroes, both at some of the weakest points in their heartbreakingly short lives, rekindle a friendship that was thought to be lost by spending all their grief and anger and despair on the comfort they desperately need.

Despite the conflict between them, despite the secrets spilled and the harm done, the two mere boys hold each other close, not willing to let go of his lifeline for anything.

Warriors and Wild watch from a distance, their hearts heavy.

* * *

  
Within the next day, there’s another portal in a nearby room awaiting their courageous spirits to continue on with their quest.

“This has got to be some kind of twisted joke,” Warriors had muttered when he and Time found it.

Hyrule had been inclined to agree, especially after they stepped through the portal and went from a dark, abandoned temple to a wide, seemingly endless desert with various cracks in the ground scattered about.

Twilight had been _pissed._ Apparently, they had wound up in his time period, and in one of the worst possible places.

Traveling through the desert was a challenge in and of itself. With supplies so low and healing items completely used up, the group of heroes were tense and wary of every little thing that popped up from the sand.

Luckily, whatever god that’s watching over them took pity on their heroes. Aside from the Moldorms that are native to the region, according to Twilight, they had no enemy encounters.

Which also meant no further injuries.

And throughout the nights, where they all sat huddled around a fire and each other to keep warm, Legend and Four steadily recovered while Hyrule waded deeper and deeper into the waters of guilt.

(He had tried to make amends, to at least offer comfort after what he did, but when Four had turned his way, his eyes had gone wide, fear twinkling in their depths, and it had halted Hyrule right in his steps. He hasn’t approached Four since.)

Because of his hearing loss, communication for Hyrule had been difficult. While he was not normally talkative to begin with, not being able to hear the others has been more challenging than he would have thought. They can understand him just fine, but they often have to practically spell out everything for Hyrule.

That is, until Time pulled out the papers he had been writing his letters on and Wild had produced a piece of lead.

They told him what transpired in the Earth Temple. They told him how he got possessed by a poe and nearly killed Four and Legend. Warriors had subdued him with a shield to the back of his head, to which Hyrule had been grateful for, but he can’t help but wonder why Warriors always looks at him with a guilty expression on his face nowadays. If anyone should be feeling guilty, it’s Hyrule.

And he definitely does. The guilt is like a tidal wave, crashing over his small body, dragging him under the waves and into the murky depths below, ruthless and unyielding.

His deafness is only making it worse. On one hand, after everything he did, being deaf seems like an awfully kind punishment as opposed to having several broken limbs or various gashes and stab wounds. But on the other hand, he’s more of a liability than ever. He could barely handle himself before he lost his hearing, but now? The others have to write down every little thing just so Hyrule can get the gist of what they’re saying. They have to make sure he can see them before they walk up to him, or else Hyrule’s instincts flare up. Wind nearly had his nose broken from one of Hyrule’s swings. Sky _did_ have his nose broken from one of Hyrule’s swings.

As if he didn’t hurt them enough.

And when it comes to his own recovery, Hyrule has had almost no results. The only thing that has happened is the constant ringing in his right ear. Wild tells him that this is a great sign, that his ears are healing and the deafness is likely only temporary, but Hyrule isn’t so sure.

But what has to be the worst part about this is the fact that his magic has yet to fully recover.

Legend, who was supplied Four’s side of the story, told him that he used Jump, Life, Thunder, Fire multiple times, and Shield before he was finally knocked out.

Thunder _alone_ drains the majority of the magic in his system.

Using all those spells in one sitting, especially multiple times, just isn’t possible without a plethora of potions. Even _with_ the potions, it’s not an easy feat to pull off. The one other time this happened, Hyrule had no magic for _weeks_ , even after chugging several potions. It felt like a chasm had opened up in his chest, emptiness making a home for itself within in a vain attempt to replace the flow of magic. Only time can close the chasm, chase the emptiness away and restore his powers, but…

He’s so _weak._

The others have yet to berate him for his uselessness, for being harmful to them, but that does nothing to stop the guilt from eating away at his consciousness.

He can’t keep doing this to them. They deserve better than him. He has been nothing but a problem for them from the very beginning. Hell, the most useful thing he’s done so far is heal Wild’s broken leg, which could have been easily prevented!

He’s waited too long.

He’s been too selfish.

The chasm within his chest grows. He’s starting to think it’s not just the lack of magic that’s causing it.

The days in the desert drag by achingly slow, but it gives Hyrule plenty of time to think, to plan. He thinks about the bottomless pits found in the cracks they pass by every so often. He thinks about weights sinking into the depths of murky waters. He thinks about monsters getting a lucky hit on their foes.

_“You’re nothing but a bad omen, boy.”_

_“Is **this** what a hero does?”_

_“You’re **cursed**. You’re a monster, just like the rest of them.”_

He thinks about what it will be like when he’s gone.

* * *

  
One night, in yet another time period, Hyrule jolts awake while the moon is still high in the sky. He sits up, a hand flinging out to grab the hilt of his sword as his legs kick away the blankets.

The campsite _looks_ innocent enough. Legend sits among the roots of a large tree, watching him with curious eyes that do nothing to hide the concern the other hero is trying to mask. The rest of their companions are scattered around the camp, snuggled deep into bedrolls and chests rising in falling in deep, heavy breaths. The fire crackles, smoke curling up to reach for the stars high above.

Wait a minute.

The fire _crackles._ Their chests rise and fall in deep _heavy_ breaths.

It’s faint, but…

Hyrule’s breath catches in his throat, and he nearly chokes on air when _sound_ reaches his right ear. Leaves rustle high above from the light breeze, his clothes and blankets shift as Hyrule scrambles to his feet, his sword forgotten in favor of hold a hand to his ear.

Footsteps pad over to him, and Hyrule snaps his head up at the sound, immediately looking to the right only to see trees shrouded in the shadows cast by the moonlight.

“Hyrule?”

Hyrule turns to the right to see Legend standing before him, a hand hesitantly raised, eyes wide. He’s favoring his left side, and his hands are neatly wrapped in a fresh set of bandages to protect his fingers as they heal.

“Say that again?” Hyrule asks, blinking at his own soft, tenor voice. He doesn’t remember his voice being so quiet, so timid. Has he always sounded like this?

“Wait,” Legend utters, and _wow_ , Hyrule didn’t know how much he missed hearing voices. “You can… you can hear me?”

No further words need to be exchanged after that. Hyrule’s knees shake, his heart pounds in his chest as pure _relief_ crashes upon him, washing away all the guilt, filling the chasm within. By Farore’s Life, he can _hear_!

It’s incredibly faint, and it’s only in his right ear, but that’s enough for Hyrule to tear up, it’s enough for him to trip over nothing as he takes a shaky step forward. The sound of leaves and grass crunching under his weight draws out a sob he tries to choke back, and even the sound of _that_ invokes an indescribable kind of elation. Legend’s arms rise up to catch him as he stumbles, grasping his arms and steadying him on his wobbly legs. Hyrule clutches at his shoulders, barely remembering to be mindful of his nearly-healed injuries, and _revels_ in the fact that he can hear Legend _breathing_ , can hear the cloth stretch underneath his hands as he digs his fingers into the fabric, can hear the light _thump_ against his back from Legend pressing his hands against it to push him closer.

More footsteps, lighter and softer than Legend’s, capture Hyrule’s attention once more. He looks up to see Wolfie padding over, the manacle attached to one paw jingling with every movement.

“I-I,” Hyrule stutters, and Legend holds him steady, slowly lowering them to the ground.

“Shh,” he whispers, and goddesses above, the only thing keeping Hyrule from full-on bawling is the last pieces of his pride still stubbornly clinging on despite everything.

“I didn’t… I don’t… I…” The words come to the tip of his tongue, but he can’t form them into the right phrases.

“It’s okay,” Legend murmurs.

It’s not okay. It’s _far_ from being okay.

But… But maybe _now_ , things can start to get better.

They eventually get to the ground, Legend fully sitting down and dragging Hyrule closer as he does so. Hyrule ends up squashed against Legend’s side, his arm wrapped firmly around Hyrule’s shoulders as Legend peers at him, his free hand coming up to brush Hyrule’s messy hair away from his right ear.

“Are you in pain?” He demands.

Hyrule shakes his head, tightening his hold on Legend’s tunic as the other hero carefully looks him over. Wolfie whines, shoving his head between Hyrule’s arms and looking up at him with big blue eyes. His tail is wagging.

“Is your hearing normal?” Legend tilts his head to study his left ear, hand carding through his hair gently as to not press against the tender spot on his left temple.

Hyrule shakes his head again, pulling his hands away from Legend’s tunic to bury them into the fur on Wolfie’s neck. His tail thumps against the ground.

“Wait,” Legend utters, pulling away to look Hyrule in the eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“I can only hear in my right ear,” Hyrule replies, and Wolfie’s tail stops wagging.

“Only in your right ear?” Legend murmurs, eyes narrowed and scrutinizing. It doesn’t match the gentle hands still tangled in his hair, holding his head steady but loose enough for Hyrule to pull away.

What a softy.

Hyrule nods. Legend swears.

“I gotta talk to Wild about this,” He mutters under his breath, and if Hyrule hadn’t been listening for it, he would have completely missed it. Before Hyrule can ask about Wild, however, Wolfie shoves himself even further into Hyrule’s arms, stretching his neck to lick Hyrule’s cheek.

Because of this, Hyrule misses the worried look on Legend’s face. He misses the way the other hero mouths words to himself, then frowns. All Hyrule cares about is the fact that there’s hope for him. Maybe he can be of use to the others again, instead of the liability he had been from the start. His hearing might not be as sharp as it was before his possession, but he trained his ears once upon a time. He can do it again.

Maybe he can make up for his mistakes before his time comes.

* * *

  
“Any progress on your hearing?” Wild asks, peering into Hyrule’s left ear with narrowed eyes and a scrunched up nose.

“Not really,” Hyrule sighs, fighting the urge to bat Wild away. His breath tickles!

A few days have passed since Hyrule discovered his hearing again. So far, there have been very few changes. His right ear can perceive sound, but it’s faint and sometimes muffled. It feels as though cotton has been stuffed in his head.

His left ear, however, has had no such luck. Every sound comes from his right now, and after being so used to sharp hearing in both ears, Hyrule has had difficulty adjusting to the change over the last few days.

Someone will come up on his left and speak, and he will turn right. Bushes will rustle, his companions will talk, animals will chatter, and the all the noise becomes one mass of sound that becomes excruciating difficult to differentiate between.

He gets headaches rather easily now. His right ear is still sensitive, even if all the sound is muffled, and taking in so much becomes overwhelming to the point where it hurts.

Surprisingly enough, this is where Time comes in.

The old man, without fail, _always_ knows when Hyrule has a headache, or when the sounds are overwhelming. Granted, it’s only been a few days, but during that relatively short period, Time has marched over to Hyrule eight separate times and has done one of two things.

The first is to sit them down—if they weren’t already seated—and wrap an arm around Hyrule’s shoulders to pull him close. He tucks Hyrule to his chest, making sure his right ear is pressing against him, and proceeds to run a hand through his hair while Hyrule listens to his heartbeat. It takes minutes for Hyrule to calm down, and even less time after that for him to fall asleep.

The second, and far more common, is to lag behind the group, a warm hand gently holding his arm so he stays nearby. When they are out of earshot, that is when they start walking once more. It’s a companionable silence that encompasses the two, broken only by nature leading the lives of both themselves and those around them. It’s peaceful, serene, and not what he would have expected from the old man. While Time likes to mingle with the others, likes to take the reins of leadership and guide them on their path, it seems Time has no qualms about dedicating his attention to one of his many companions.

Despite his newfound hearing, Hyrule is still a liability.

“And what about your magic?” Wild pulls away, a small frown tugging the corners of his mouth down.

Hyrule twiddles his thumbs, ducking his head and averting his gaze. “Nothing.”

Wild nods, patting Hyrule on the shoulder. “No worries. You just needs a little more time to heal is all.”

Hyrule isn’t so sure. His magic might not be back yet, and he expected that, but he figured there would at least be a sign of sorts. Maybe a light hum of power in his veins, maybe less of the crushing weight of emptiness, maybe even a flicker of magic whenever he clenched his hands into fists.

Of course, anything along those lines has yet to occur.

He wonders if the poe has anything to do with this. Is it possible it could have cursed him? It seems like a cruel joke, considering he’s already been cursed once and has yet to break free from it, but at the same time, it would just be his luck.

Not that it will matter for much longer.

“Hey, you two!”

Warriors’ call snaps Hyrule from his thoughts. He and Wild turn to see the captain waving them over, the rest of their companions waiting in a cluster behind him.

“Would either of you happen to know where we are?” Warriors asks once Wild and Hyrule come to a stop beside him.

“My slate wouldn’t load my map,” Wild replies. “So we’re definitely not in my time period.”

Hyrule hums, taking in their surroundings. They are in a dense forest, tall and thick trees pressed close together with foliage curling around their trunks. A light fog blankets the forest floor, not yet exposed to the morning sun.

“It’s possible we could be in my time period,” Hyrule utters, “but I can’t say for certain. I don’t see any familiar landmarks.”

Warriors grumbles. “So it’s either yours or it’s mine, _or_ we’re in some remote location. Wonderful.” He turns to Time, who levels the captain with an amused smirk. “We’ll split up to cover more ground?”

Wild immediately links their arms together with a goofy smile. “We’ll—“

“ _No_ ,” Warriors barks, leveling the two with a stern glare. Hyrule shies away from it. “Absolutely not. We won’t see you two for _days_ at the minimum.”

“Actually,” Time hums, a considering gleam in his eye. “I think they’re the best to pair together.”

Wild fist-pumps while Warriors slowly turns back to Time. Behind them, Legend pinches the bridge of his nose while Sky pats him on the shoulder with a chuckle.

“Explain?” Warriors questions with a raised eyebrow.

“Simple,” Time chuckles. “If anyone is going to be able to find something of note, it’s going to be those two!”

“I feel like I should take offense to that,” Hyrule mutters.

“Me too,” Wild agrees.

Warriors crosses his arms. “Did you forget about the part where we lost them for an entire _day_?”

“We found them last time,” Time replies easily. “And this time, they have a goal.”

Time’s eye flicks over to them then, piercing and unwavering. Goosebumps crawl up Hyrule’s arms, sending shivers down his back.

“We _do_ have a goal,” Wild says through his teeth, his arm stiff against Hyrule’s.

Time looks back at Warriors, who seems a tad paler than normal. “I’m sure they’ll be back by nightfall,” he says in a sickly sweet tone.

He turns and walks away, making a beeline towards the other side of the tiny clearing, snagging Four’s sleeve as he does so. Four stumbles after him, confusion evident on his face.

Warriors stares after him, Hyrule and Wild following his gaze as the rest of their companions split off into groups.

“Remind me to never get on his bad side,” Warriors mumbles.

“N-noted,” Hyrule squeaks.

* * *

  
“You find any familiar landmarks yet?” Wild asks.

“I don’t know, Wild,” Hyrule mutters, waving a hand at their surroundings. “Do you see _anything_ that looks like it could be a landmark?”

“Well…” Wild gazes around. “I see trees, grass, that boulder over there, more trees, and a log.” He turns back to Hyrule, a mischievous grin on his face. “Oh, and some more trees.”

“Are any of those landmarks to you?”

“I mean… There aren’t a lot of boulders just lying around in some creepy forest.”

Hyrule sends his friend the best deadpan he will ever pull off. Wild barks out a laugh.

“Okay, okay, there’s jack shit here,” He laughs. “I was just trying to strike up friendly conversation is all.”

Hyrule knocks their shoulders together with a chuckle of his own. “I know. Sorry.”

“There’s no need to apologize,” Wild replies with a grin that quickly softens into a gentle smile.

They fall into a comfortable silence, navigating the dense forest easily, as if they had always lived there to begin with, the trees parting around them like a river around a rock protruding from the surface of the water. The sun steadily climbs higher and higher in the sky, but that does little to dispel the long shadows coating the forest and the fog circling their feet.

But eventually, when the sun reaches its peak, Wild and Hyrule fight their way through a bush only to find what is absolutely _not_ more of the forest.

“Woah,” Wild breathes.

In front of them lies a ruined village that nature has reclaimed. Old stone buildings sit in crumbled heaps, vines crawling up the few smooth surfaces that remain, weeds growing in every little crevice and sprouting tiny flowers to soak up what little sun shines past the thick foliage above. Aside from the rustling of the leaves and their footsteps, it is eerily quiet. Old gravel shifts underneath their boots as they hesitantly make their way further in.

“I’m assuming you don’t know this place?” Wild whispers as they come to a stop in front of what looks to be a collapsed fountain.

“No.” Is what Hyrule says. Within his mind, every single one of his alarm bells is ringing to the song of danger.

This is all too similar to Kasuto. The _destroyed_ Kasuto. The one that was just like this village: ruined, overgrown, abandoned, and with an indescribable stench that sits in the back of one’s throat for _hours_ , unable to be shaken free by any other scents no matter how strong.

The only difference is the absence of monsters. And bodies.

Nevertheless, the hair on the back of his neck stands straight up as he and Wild pad down the faded paths. There are no animals, no monsters, no _people…_

This isn’t right.

This isn’t good at all.

It’s too quiet. Too peaceful. This… This is _wrong_!

_Leave_ , his mind wails, _you’re in danger! Leave before you get hurt! Before **Wild** gets hurt!_

And just as Hyrule goes to open his mouth, just as he goes to get the attention of his friend flitting about an old shrine, a bloodcurdling screech turns his blood to ice.

Two white pinpricks of light appear in the shadows of the shrine, growing larger and larger as a shuffling sound grows louder and louder. Hyrule instinctively moves to grab his sword, but his body stays frozen, only twitching in response.

He… He can’t _move._

All he can do is stand there, rooted to the spot, as the corpse of a man slithers out from the darkness and into the muted light, footsteps almost wet as it limps over to him. Its dark skin hangs from its skeleton, old and bloodied and _rotting_. Its eyes are completely black aside from two little white dots locked onto Hyrule, and its jaw unhinges itself, gaping wide to reveal sharpened teeth and rotten muscle as another screech flies free from its mouth.

Hyrule feels bile rise in his throat.

The _stench_ is overpowering. The smell of a corpse invades his nose, blots out all logic and courage, and leave him ready to empty his stomach of his breakfast while quaking in his boots.

Hyrule tries to fight off the ice, tries to rip himself free from whatever magic is keeping him in place, tries to _get away_ from this… _thing_ , but he can’t move, oh goddesses above, he can’t—!

He’s trapped, forced to play the role of prey and watch as his predator takes one sluggish step after the other, closing the distance between them in an agonizingly slow pace while screeching its dark spell. He’s helpless, _useless_. He can do nothing except look his death in the eye and pray that its quick.

Is this how he’s really going to go? Is this the end of the line for him? All his work, all his fighting, all his pain and suffering, all his happiness and elation, has it all lead to this? Was he to become a hero only to be doomed to die at the hands of the undead?

The corpse hobbles closer, rotting flesh sliding off its limbs as it moves, as it raises a hand.

His heart pounds in his chest. His body trembles. His lungs ache with the need for air. His mind whirls and whirls.

Another screech pierces his ears and _goddesses above_ it hurts, it hurts so much. Pure, unadulterated fear blinds his senses, blinds his hope, blinds who he is and leaves him vulnerable, exposed, _helpless_.

And in the whirlwind of panic, Hyrule desperately clings to life. The corpse draws closer and closer, death lurking around it in the stench assaulting every part of his being. It draws closer and closer, until it’s standing mere inches away from Hyrule. Another screech sends lightning shocks of _agony_ through his head, as if Wind took his hammer and slammed it against his head repeatedly. A hand colder than ice seizes his throat, overgrown nails digging into the soft skin of his neck. Hyrule chokes on air, calling upon magic that isn’t there.

_Volumus pulvia volumus **tonitrua**! Grant me the power of **Thunder**!_

But nothing happens.

Nothing, except for the dead fingers tightening their grip, allowing more of his precious lifeblood to escape his body. The corpse leans in, its jaw unhinged, ready to draw even more of his blood, ready to steal his life away.

And in that mere moment of time, in that one little second between life and death, Hyrule’s spirit cries out for help, for relief, for _life_.

His wish is granted in the form of a beam made from sacred light flying from the heavens and striking the corpse. Immediately, its hand retracts from his throat as if burned, and Hyrule falls to the ground, coughing and choking. The corpse _shrieks_ above him as the light purges its rotting flesh, seeping into its cursed body and destroying the darkness inside with blinding rays of golden light. The corpse disappears along with the light, no traces of it ever being there left behind save for the cuts in Hyrule’s throat.

Another beam flies above his head, striking another rotten body that had its hands on Wild. Much like the last one, it lets out a shriek as light disintegrates its body, and Wild collapses on the spot, heaving for breath with a hand pressed to his throat.

Hyrule twists to look behind him, and he meets the wide, frightened eyes of Wind. He holds a bow in his trembling hands, a third arrow of sacred light nocked on the string, ready to be drawn back and fired should another threat arise.

And beside him, Sky stands with the Master Sword drawn and gleaming with a brilliant radiance.

They rush over to them, and the moment is _shattered._

Hyrule ducks his head and empties his stomach of its contents, gagging on the stench of stomach acid and bodies left to decay in the open. His throat burns under the abuse, but his body refuses to stop, roiling with nausea. A hand rubs his back in soothing circles, but it does nothing to stop him from dry-heaving when there’s nothing left to vomit.

He should have known better. He _really_ should have known better.

How he could _ever_ forget what that smell was after his first time visiting Kasuto is beyond him. If he had recognized it from the beginning, he could have avoided this entire situation!

Stupid, stupid, _stupid!_

“I’m sorry,” he rasps to whoever is sitting next to him, coughing and hacking the last bit of spittle out of his mouth. “I should have… I…”

“Let’s get you patched up,” Sky’s voice murmurs, so far away yet he knows the other is kneeled beside him, holding him up so he doesn’t fall into his own vomit.

Sky lifts him up, slinging one of Hyrule’s arms around his shoulders. Hyrule’s legs buckle underneath his weight, but Sky easily supports him.

“W-what were those things?” Hyrule coughs, blinking away tears and trying to ignore the taste in the back of his throat.

“Wind called them Redeads,” Sky replies, glancing over Hyrule’s head. He follows his gaze to see Wind kneeling beside Wild, who has his head held between his hands and a faraway look in his gaze. “He says the best way to dispose of them is with something utterly destructive, and not to get close.”

Not to get close, huh?

Too late for that.

Sky walks them over to where their respective partners are, gently lowering Hyrule to the ground and tilting his head back to get a look at the puncture wounds in his neck.

“Is he alright?” Wind asks, sounding surprisingly calm considering how scared he had looked mere moments ago.

“We need to get these cuts treated as soon as possible,” Sky replies. “But yes, they should both be okay if these are their only injuries.”

“They are,” Wild holds up a pinky finger. “Honest.”

“Good.” Wind crosses his arms, pinning Wild and Hyrule in place with a blazing green eyes as his features suddenly warp into one of _fury_. “What the _fuck_ were you idiots thinking?”

“W-Wind…” Sky yelps, raising his hands in a placating manner. “Calm down—”

“Shut the fuck up, Sky,” Wind snarls, turning to glare at the older hero before turning his gaze back to Hyrule and Wild. “What in Din’s name were you even _thinking_ , going into some abandoned village like this? Did you guys even _have_ thoughts, or did you just go “dum-dee-fucking-dum” and waltz in here like you own the place? You _dumb motherfuckers,_ you would have been _killed_ had Sky and I not been in the area, and if I had been out of light arrows!”

Shame coils low in his stomach as Hyrule ducks his head. Wind is right, and he should have _known better._ Even after finally managing to make himself even the slightest bit useful to the others, he still screws it all up. He didn’t pay enough attention like he _should have_ , and as a result, he nearly had Wild and himself killed.

Wind lets out a loud sniffle, and that causes Hyrule to jerk his head up, shock momentarily replacing the guilt. Wind is still glaring at them, but fat tears roll down his chubby cheeks, his lip quivers, his hands clench into fists.

“F-Fuck you,” Wind hiccups. “D-Don’t you have any—any kind o-of self-preservation?” He scrubs at his eyes with his arm, but it only smears the tears around and makes his face even more red. “Do you h-have any id-idea what… what it would… what we… we…”

“I’m sorry, Wind,” Hyrule chokes out.

Wind glares at him through salty tears for another moment before launching himself at Hyrule, throwing his arms around his neck and pressing himself close to Hyrule’s chest. Hyrule’s breath catches in his throat as Wind sobs into his neck, causing the cuts there to sting as the tears mix with the blood, but Hyrule doesn’t care. Wind is _crying_ , because of _him_ , and Hyrule wraps his arms around the boy in return and presses his face into his messy blonde hair. Guilt worms its way back in, settling in his chest like an impossibly heavy weight, ready to drag him down down down until it has consumed everything.

* * *

  
Dawn is just beginning to break when Hyrule stands up from his post, sword in hand. The gauze around his neck itches as he quietly picks his way through the sleeping bodies of his companions, eyes set on a path invisible to all but him.

When he, Wild, Wind, and Sky had gotten back from their little, ah, _excursion_ , the rest of the group had not been happy. They had swarmed Wild and Hyrule after seeing the cuts in their necks, bombarding them with all kinds of questions and demands, butting into their personal space at any opportunity available to them.

It had been too much. Hyrule had dealt with that for all of two minutes before wriggling free from their hold and fleeing into the woods. Legend ran after him, of course, but it was all too easy to lose him among the bushes and undergrowth.

He had eventually returned to the campsite, and luckily his companions knew better than to bombard him again—some even apologized to him—but Hyrule had avoided them all the same, choosing to curl up against a tree far from where the others were gathered, but close enough to feel the warmth of the fire.

He had insisted on taking watch tonight. It would be his last, after all, and this was the best way to go about it.

And now, with everyone asleep, with the sun rising in a few minutes, and with Wolfie keeping watch alongside him, Hyrule knows there’s no time like the present. This is his chance.

Wolfie pads after him, easily slinking around the various sleeping bags and keeping pace with Hyrule. When they reach the trees lining the small clearing, Hyrule kneels down to look him in the eye.

“Keep an eye on them for me, okay?” He murmurs to the beast with a bittersweet smile on his face. “I need to go now.”

Wolfie whines, sitting back on his haunches and flattening his ears. Hyrule lets out a low chuckle.

“It’s okay. Everything will be okay. I need to do something, and I need you to make sure they’re safe. Can you do that for me?”

Wolfie doesn’t make another sound. When Hyrule stands, he remains seated, watching him with gleaming eyes as Hyrule leans his sword against one of the trees and walks into the forest, not daring to look back, lest he should get cold feet.

After he had fled the campsite earlier, Hyrule had stumbled upon a steep cliffside with rough waves lapping at the rock far below. It was rather high up, much higher than Hyrule was comfortable with, but while he was hiding out there, he realized that he is not going to get many other opportunities like the one granted to him here.

But of course, he had to be selfish one last time. He had to, at the very least, wish his companions goodnight and have their backs one last time before he disappeared forever.

And now, as Hyrule reaches the end of the trees and finds the very same cliff as before, he has no reason to put this off any longer.

He walks to the edge of the cliff, looking down at the waves crashing against the sheer side. If the impact doesn’t kill him, the waves will. He can’t swim, after all.

But as he stands there, he finds it’s rather difficult to take that last step.

It should be easy. He’s been planning this from the very beginning! Since even before this crazy adventure started! He has been prepared for this for such a long time now, and yet, his feet stick to the ground.

Why?

Is it because he doesn’t want to do this? No, that can’t be it. He’s _never_ wanted to do this. But he _has to._ He doesn’t have another choice. Here he is, standing on the side of a cliff, the waves of the ocean ready to drown him should he survive the impact, lost in another time period all together. He can save his people from himself. He can _finally_ put an end to this cruel curse that has haunted him for _years_ without endangering anyone!

So why can’t he do it?

All it takes is one step.

_“D-Don’t you have any—any kind o-of self-preservation?”_

Just one…

_“I’m not your friend because of your worth, Hyrule.”_

Just…

_“You’re a person before you’re a hero.”_

He can’t do it.

Hyrule takes a deep, shuddering breath, clenching his hands into fists, eyes fixated on the rough waves beneath him. He can’t _do it_ but he _has to_.

But then he thinks about what had occurred mere hours ago. He thinks about how death had looked him in the eye, came so close to claiming him, and how he had rejected it. He… he _really_ doesn’t want to do this.

Yet, his feet don’t move away from the cliff.

_“You’re nothing but a bad omen, boy.”_

Hyrule takes another deep breath, crushing the nervous jitters within and steeling himself.

_“You **chose** for things to be this way!”_

He closes his eyes, finding courage in not being able to see what he’s about to do.

_“I curse you and your blood, boy, to forever bear my hatred within!”_

He leans forward, lets gravity dig its hooks in and pull, and for a moment, he floats with the air caressing his face with a gentle breeze.

Teeth dig into his arm.

Hyrule’s eyes snap open as he’s suddenly _yanked_ back. He tries to glance at his perpetrator, but then arms wrap around his waist and _haul_ him to the side, practically throwing him to the ground.

When he looks up, dazed and confused, he sees Legend standing with his back to the cliff, the light of dawn shadowing his form as he glares down at Hyrule. Wolfie stands beside him, ears flattened, head bowed.

“So _that_ was your plan,” Legend hisses. “ _That’s_ why you wanted to take watch even after we said no.”

Hyrule says nothing, averting his gaze. Footsteps pad in his direction, and Hyrule can’t bring himself to look up, to face the consequences of his actions. Had he not been foolish enough to let his hesitance get to his head—

Legend falls to his knees beside Hyrule, hands gripping his shoulders as he levels his successor with burning blue eyes laced with tears.

“You thought you could leave me just like everyone else did, huh?” Legend smiles, twisted, bitter, _broken_. “You thought throwing your life away was the answer? You thought nobody would miss you when you were gone, right?”

He leans in, close enough so Hyrule can look past the mask of fury and see the heartbreak, the fear, the anguish.

“Fat fucking chance.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW for: Graphic descriptions of dead bodies, redeads, suicidal thoughts, attempted suicide.
> 
>  _Hi, yes, don’t kill me please—_  
>  I want to make this very clear: in NO WAY am I trying to glorify or romanticize suicide. It’s a very serious issue I’ve had personal experiences with, and I hope I can convey in my writing that this is being treated seriously and not just to make you sad. This next chapter is going to be the aftermath of what’s occurred, and will focus on recovery.  
> Please remember that there’s always hope.  
> I hope you enjoyed!  
> (PS, stay tuned, because there’s a surprise that’ll come a little later :D)


	4. Restoring your Future

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *cue loud excited screaming*  
> IM FINALLY FINISHED  
> I’m so glad to see this massive project finally DONE and POSTED!  
> And I really hope this has been worth the wait.  
> I hope you enjoy this last chapter! It’s the longest one yet!

Icy blue eyes bore into Hyrule’s forest green. Fingers dig into his shoulders, pressing hard enough to leave bruises. Legend is in nothing but his undershirt, hair a ruffled mess from where he had undoubtedly combed his fingers through it, and his feet are bare.

Hyrule swallows. “L-Legend, I—”

“Shut the fuck up,” Legend snaps, his voice heavy and with a sorrowful ring to it. “Don’t… “

Hyrule bows his head, squeezing his eyes shut and waiting for the inevitable to occur. He waits for Legend to scream at him, to yell at him, to bodily shake him, to rant and rant about this that and the other. He waits for that sorrow to turn into anger, and drive them apart once again.

The hands on his shoulders move, arms sliding around his neck as Legend lurches forward, resting his head against Hyrule’s.

“You _stupid_ bastard,” Legend mutters in his good ear.

“I—”

“No, no,” Legend growls, arms tightening around Hyrule. “You’ve said _enough_. You need to _listen_ to me.”

Hyrule shuts his mouth, swallowing around the lump in his throat. Legend lets out a shuddering breath.

“Farore, Hyrule,” He curses. “I-I can’t even _think._ I’m just—I’m so fucking _angry_ right now.”

Hyrule winces, his chest growing tight as guilt takes hold of his heart and _squeezes_. Legend pulls away, his hands returning to Hyrule’s shoulders, and Hyrule wishes he hadn’t moved. He already misses the warmth, the tight but secure hold, something he never thought he would tolerate never mind desire.

Legend claims to be angry but when Hyrule meets his gaze, underneath the smoldering anger is pure _terror_ mixed with unadulterated _relief_ , and it gives Hyrule pause.

Legend leans in, his eyes narrowing as he hisses out, “I don’t know who or what made you think that throwing yourself off a cliff was the right answer, and frankly, I don’t fucking care right now, but for the _love_ of _Nayru_ , Hyrule, this isn’t the answer.”

“I—“

The words die on his tongue even before Legend shushes him with an icy glare. What does he say, what does he _do_? How does he convey to Legend that he and his time period are doomed to a bloody fate? How does he convey to Legend that this is his _only option_ to save his people from devastation?

His despair must show on his face, as Legend’s glare softens ever so slightly, his grip on Hyrule’s shoulders loosening.

“I-I didn’t want to,” Hyrule blurts out, the words tearing from his throat before he could stop them. His chest is heavy with hopelessness, guilt, anger, despair, and yet he feels so empty—as if he were a shell and nothing more.

“Nobody wants to,” Legend murmurs back. “And this… this isn’t your fault.”

Hyrule smiles, bitter as he replies, “But that’s where you’re wrong. I doomed my world, my people.” He shakes his head, a hysteric laugh bubbling from his chest. “I doomed them when I should have saved them.” He scoffs. “Some hero I am.”

Legend’s eyes widen, his grip tightening ever so slightly on his shoulders as he breathes out, “Is this about… about when we argued?”

Hyrule jerks his head in a nod, surprised when he feels a tear run down his cheek. When did he start crying, and why? This is no time to cry! He is a battle-hardened _warrior_! He has been through dungeons filled with his nightmares and he never once shed a tear. He has wandered for _days_ inside a single labyrinth, wondering if he would ever find his way out or if he would die beneath the earth, and he never felt the urge to cry. He fought tooth and nail against his own shadow, a fight that seemed hopeless, a fight he very nearly _lost_ , and yet his eyes remained dry.

So why is he crying now? Why does wiping the tears away only cause more to fall? Why does he feel like he’s being crushed by an invisible weight? Why does his chest ache? Why does it feel like everything is falling apart?

A whine drags Hyrule from his hysteria. Wolfie presses against his side, his fur soft and warm and _grounding_. The beast whines again when he meets its gaze, ears drooped, eyes shining mournfully.

“Hyrule,” Legend murmurs, and Hyrule turns his gaze back to his friend, only to see him looking haunted, _frightened_. “I need you to tell me everything. Can you do that?”

“B-but I… t-that’s—” Hyrule stutters, but Legend nods.

“I know I’m asking a lot,” He says, “but… I can’t help you if I don’t know everything. I’m not asking for every detail, and not all at once, but Hyrule… this isn’t right.”

He sounds so desperate, so _hurt_ , and Hyrule can’t fathom why. What is he possibly thinking? There’s nothing Legend could do to help him! And does he even deserve that kind of help, considering the fact that he did this to himself? What does he mean by “this isn’t right”? If this isn’t right, then _what is_?

“I _chose this_ , Legend,” Hyrule hisses, scrubbing at his eyes with his sleeve. It does little to stop his tears, only smearing them around his cheeks even more.

Wolfie nuzzles his shoulder, ears flat, eyes downcast. Legend lets his hands fall from his shoulders, but Hyrule lashes out with his free hand to grab his wrist.   
  


“D-don’t leave,” he chokes out.

Legend twists his arm in Hyrule’s hold, fingers clasping around his own wrist. “I won’t.”

Hyrule takes a deep, shuddering breath. Wolfie presses close to his side. Legend’s thumb rubs gentle circles in his arm.

And he talks.

He talks about how he had to navigate several dungeons to find the pieces of the Triforce of Wisdom, about how Ganon cursed his lifeblood, about how sick he was for weeks after being cursed, about how years went by with him hopping from village to village in an attempt to stay hidden.

He shows Legend the mark on his hand, the same one he got on his sixteenth birthday. The outline of the Triforce stares back at him, angry red lines etched into his skin, a reminder that _he_ was the so-called chosen one, a reminder that _he_ damaged his home more than he saved it.

He tells Legend about that too, about how the monsters turned their eyes to him and only him, about how the people took up arms _against_ him, about how the monsters slipped right in among the ranks of humans, about how saving their other princess only caused more strife and division.

Of course, he leaves out all the gory details, but what he says is enough for Legend to tighten his hold on his arm into an iron grip, for Wolfie to shove his head under Hyrule’s arm to nuzzle even closer. Hyrule bows his head, his own grip loosening, his chest tightening with fear. He doesn’t think he has ever felt so vulnerable before; where it feels like his heart is exposed for all to see, to judge, to crush into a million pieces.

There’s nothing stopping Legend from doing the same. There’s nothing stopping Legend from looking him in the eye and telling him that he’s right, that everything _is_ his fault. That he should have _never_ been the chosen one, that he should have made better choices, that—

“And I thought _I_ had a cruel fate.”

Hyrule’s head snaps up, eyes going wide as they meet Legend’s.

“W-What?” He croaks out, feeling so small under those pale eyes.

“Cursed, hunted by monsters, scorned by people…” Legend shakes his head, and the grief, the heartbreak, the fear, it rolls off his form in waves, practically tangible. Once again, Hyrule is taken aback by the raw emotion, especially since Legend isn’t even trying to hide it. “Is there anybody you could have turned to? At all?” Legend presses.

“I didn’t _want_ anybody,” Hyrule replies, shaking his head with a bitter laugh. “Nobody could help me, and I didn’t want anyone to help me. They would either get themselves killed or try to kill me. I was safest when I was alone.”

“You _didn’t_ want anyone to help you,” Legend echoes, tilting his head ever so slightly. “But how about now?”

Hyrule opens his mouth, a rebuttal on his tongue, ready to remind Legend that he _chose_ this. He’s ready to tell Legend how useless his help would be, ready to tell Legend that this is all he knows and all that it has been.

But the words die in his throat.

He falters before the other hero, the bitterness fading and leaving him feeling vulnerable once more. He remembers the Redead, the way its nails had clawed his skin open, how its jaw had unhinged as it let loose its demonic screech, how its flesh hung from its body like it was peeling.

But the especially vivid memory screaming within his mind is how close he was to the death he was seeking, and how he had immediately rejected it, how he had prayed for some kind of miracle to save his life, for some kind of _help._

“I…” Hyrule tries to speak, but nothing else follows. Legend’s hand moves from his wrist to his hand, and Hyrule only just now notices that he’s shaking like a leaf.

“I…” Hyrule tries again, blinking when he tastes salty tears on his tongue. He tries to squeeze Legend’s hand, but he can barely move his fingers, his trembling is so terrible.

“ _Y-yes,_ ” Hyrule chokes out, weak, terrified, hurt, and so _so_ fragile. “I can’t… I-I can’t keep this up, I just _can’t._ ”

His chest feels so tight, and no amount of air he sucks in relieves the pressure. The lump in his throat stops any other words from blurting out. He clutches Legend’s hand like a lifeline, willing his shaking to cease, attempting to pull himself together.

But when Legend scoots closer, when he winds an arm around Hyrule’s shoulders, Hyrule finds that there’s no point in saving face. He melts into Legend’s side, eyes squeezed shut as more tears spring free.

“It’s okay,” Legend murmurs into his ear as Wolfie lays his head down in Hyrule’s lap. “It’s going to be okay. _You’re_ going to be okay. I promise.”

Hyrule takes a deep breath that sounds more like a sob than anything else, and one sob turns into another and then another, until Hyrule is left hunched over with a hand pressed to his mouth and the other in Legend’s hold as he soothes him with quiet comforting words. Waves crash against the cliff’s side as the sun slowly rises into the sky, and for once Hyrule believes that maybe, _just maybe_ , he might have a shot at seeing that sun rise and fall for years to come.

* * *

  
The rest of the day, surprisingly, passes with no other hiccups. When Legend had returned to the campsite with a red-eyed Hyrule and Wolfie in tow, Time had already been awake, sitting by the fire and poking at it with a stick. He took one look at the trio and said nothing, instead gesturing for them to sit beside him. Hyrule ended up squashed between Legend and Time while Wolfie vanished into the trees. By the time the others began to stir, Twilight was back and sitting beside Legend, gazing blankly into the dying embers.

It was later that night, after a long day of traveling, when Legend approached Twilight after he was sure everyone else had gone to sleep. Twilight nodded in greeting, moving his sword to the other side of his legs to give Legend room to sit beside him.

“You haven’t said anything, have you?” Legend asks as soon as he’s situated. Twilight scoffs.

“Of course not. It’s not my place, and not my story to tell.”

Legend sighs. “I know, I just…”  
  


Twilight turns to him, a small, sad smile on his face. “You wanted to be sure.”

It’s not a question. “I suppose,” Legend replies, hunching his shoulders and gazing out at their sleeping companions. His eyes fall on Hyrule, curled in his nest of blankets as per usual, his face soft and round like a child’s, and Legend remembers for the umpteenth time that Hyrule _is_ a child.

“I knew he had a rough life,” Twilight comments from beside him, following his gaze. “I knew just by looking at him, but I would have never imagined…”

“There were so many signs, Twilight,” Legend says, shaking his head with a small, bitter laugh. “So fucking many, and I never put it together. I never put any of it together until you woke me up this morning and…”

Legend trails off, remembering the pure, blinding _panic_ he felt when he woke up to Wolfie’s frantic nudging and Hyrule’s absence, minus his sword and items. He had thought the idiot had gone wandering and had gotten hurt. He was so afraid Hyrule was going to bleed out or was captured or had his head lobbed off or _something_.

But when he saw him on the cliff? When he saw Hyrule’s back to him, not a single item or weapon on his person, feet so close to the edge, Legend had _never_ run so fast in his life, and he had cursed himself a million times in that moment for being stupid enough to go barefoot. He wouldn’t have made it had Wolfie not been there, able to tug Hyrule back just enough for Legend to grab him.

“I don’t know what to do,” Legend mumbles, shaking head to clear those thoughts. “I’m not… _good_ at this. I don’t do emotions. I take my emotions and I stuff them in an imaginary bottle and chuck it into an imaginary volcano!”

Legend breathes out a heavy sigh, lowering his head into his hands. “I didn’t even _notice_ things were this bad. And I had all the signs! How can I possibly help him if I’m too blind to see it?”

Legend rubs his temples, grits his teeth together. He’s tempted to tug at his hair, but he dropped that habit years ago—

“Are you done?”

Legend’s head snaps up. Twilight raises an expectant eyebrow, arms crossed, mouth turned downward in a frown.

“W-what?” Legend stutters, stunned by the response. He repeats the question to himself, stumped by the puzzle Twilight presented him. Twilight rolls his eyes.

“Legend, you’re focusing on the past,” Twilight says, as if Legend’s plight is some mere annoyance or some small bump in the road. “I know I’m one to talk, but you can’t change what’s happened to you or him or any of us.”

“Enough with the motivational speech bullshit,” Legend gripes, narrowing his eyes into a glare as a spark of indignant anger ignites in his chest. “Get to the point.”

“You’re not blind to this anymore.”

Legend straightens up, anger turning to curiosity. Twilight grins at him.

“You can see just as clearly as I can. You’ve learned just as I have. What you _should_ be asking yourself is what you’re gonna do now.”

Twilight leans forward, slinging an arm around Legend’s shoulders. “You can change his future by using the past.”

Legend narrows his eyes. “You act like _you’re_ not going to do anything.”

Twilight chuckles. “Hey now, I’m going to do everything I can to help him. But _you_ —“ he ruffles Legend’s hair, earning a protesting squawk from the other hero—“are gonna have the biggest effect on him, mark my words.”

Legend bats his hand away, glowering at him as he scoffs, “Yeah, sure I will.”

“You _will_!” Twilight levels him with a playful yet stern glare. “You’re his idol, you know.”

“A lousy idol I turned out to be,” Legend mutters under his breath.

Twilight flicks him in the forehead, a sharp glare causing the retort on Legend’s tongue to wither away.

“ _Listen_ to me,” Twilight huffs. “You could be the best person to idolize, you could be the _worst_ person to idolize. What matters is that _you_ are the one he will turn to, _you_ are the one he will truly listen to. Use that. Show him that he’s more than some dead man’s curse, that he’s not a walking time bomb.”

Twilight leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He gives Legend a small smile as Legend mulls over his words.

He knows Twilight is right, especially after this morning, but Legend doesn’t know how he’s going to go about this. His own experience with his dark thoughts never got so destructive, he was too damn busy, and Hyrule’s situation is already far worse than he could have imagined.

But maybe…

He recalls how scared Hyrule had been at the sight of blood staining his tunic, what feels like years ago back when everyone was still getting to know each other. He remembers how stunned Hyrule had been when Legend had told him he was a person before he was a hero, as if Legend had just made his entire world.

Maybe he did. Maybe he didn’t.

But that spark in his eyes at the time? Legend knows his words had an effect on him, just like when he told Hyrule on the cliff this morning that he was going to be okay.

“You get it?” Twilight asks him, a knowing smile spreading across his face.

“Yeah,” Legend replies. “Yeah, I think I do.”

“Good.” Twilight gives him a light shove. “Then go to bed already. You have morning watch, and he’ll probably appreciate your cuddling.”

“I am _not_ a cuddler!” Legend snaps, only for Twilight to playfully scoff.

“Oh yeah? Tell that to Wolfie then.” 

“You are the _worst_ ,” Legend groans, scrubbing a hand down his face. Twilight laughs, thumping a hand on Legend’s back.

“Sure I am. _Sure_ I am.”

Legend stands, huffing as he crosses his arms and turns his back on Twilight.

“Thanks,” He mutters before walking over to his bedroll.

He misses the small, fond smile on Twilight’s face as he murmurs, “Anytime, kid.”

* * *

  
The next few days are a little tense. Hyrule has been quiet, likely from the shame and guilt Legend has yet to dispel. He hasn’t told anyone what happened, but Legend suspects Time figured it out. Wild and Warriors know something drastic happened, but every time they try to bring it up, Hyrule says nothing and Legend shoots them down before they can even get their questions out. The rest try to ease the tension, to keep conversation light or check up on the injuries they are still sustaining, but it falls flat more often than not. Hyrule doesn’t say much, and neither does Legend, but Legend makes it a point to stay by his side anytime he can, bringing up some stupid story or occurrence every night to start a conversation. Other than that, there is little camaraderie among the group.

Legend is grateful when Warriors asks for a spar one evening, looking pointedly at Sky with a grin.

Sky chuckles, but shakes his head. “Not tonight, my friend. I don’t want to deal with a sore loser.”

“Hey!” Warriors yells as everyone else chuckles. “Who says _I’m_ the sore loser?”

“I do,” Sky says with a shrug.

“Very funny,” Warriors huffs.

Legend lightly elbows Hyrule, and when he turns to him, he grins, nodding in Warriors’ direction. Hyrule shakes his head with wide eyes, but Legend rolls his own and elbows him again.

“Go whoop his ass,” Legend whispers.

“I really don’t think…” Hyrule hisses back, all nervous energy and jitters.

“Oh come on,” Legend teases, going to elbow him again when Hyrule slaps his arm away. “He’s all talk with a pompous attitude.”

Hyrule still looks unsure, nervous, even a little scared. Legend puts a hand on his shoulder, offering him a small smile that he hopes is comforting.

“It’s all in good fun,” Legend murmurs. “Practice too, but mostly for fun. Besides, you’re a damn good fighter. You’re more than capable.”

Hyrule’s head tilts in surprise, his mouth falling open, his shoulders going slack. He goes to say something, but instead jumps when Warriors shouts, “What about you, Hyrule?”

Hyrule turns his attention to Warriors, who stands there with his sword drawn, a smug yet playful expression on his face. All eyes are on him, curious, excited.

“It’s up to you,” Legend tells Hyrule when he turns back to him.

“Well?” Warriors calls. Hyrule turns to face him.

“I…” he takes a deep breath, wringing his hands, before meeting Warriors’ gaze evenly. “Alright.”

Cheers erupt from the rest of the heroes as Hyrule stands, and his face flushes red at the attention. With his sword in hand and hunched shoulders, Hyrule walks over to Warriors, stopping a fair distance away.

Warriors holds up his sword. “You ready?”

Hyrule nods, hands gripping his own weapon.

“Wind, start us off?” Warriors asks, and Wind bounces up from his spot besides Time.

“And three…” Warriors raises his chin with a cocky smile.

“Two…” Hyrule narrows his eyes, taking a deep breath.

“One!” Wind shouts, a bright smile on his face as Warriors charges. His sword is held out to the side as he runs, legs pumping him across the small campsite to where Hyrule stands.

And that’s an odd sight to Legend. From what he’s seen, Hyrule has never been afraid to attack head-on, to quickly jump in, deal with the threat, and jump out. But the closer Legend looks, the more he realizes that Hyrule isn’t frozen in fear, oh no. Hyrule’s gaze is narrowed, watching Warriors’ movements carefully, all signs of nervousness gone in the face of _focus._

Legend smirks, crossing his arms behind his head as he leans back against a tree. He wasn’t lying when he told Hyrule that he was a good fighter. Far from it, actually. The one time he _had_ to fight Hyrule, the kid had kicked his ass—though granted, Legend wasn’t trying to hurt him. His side _still_ smarts at the memory.

No, Hyrule is more than a capable fighter. Hyrule is just as strong as the rest of them, if not stronger.

And he sees it in the way Hyrule twists out of the way of Warriors’ sword right at the last second, using his momentum to swing his own weapon in a wide slash. Warriors fumbles to block, taken aback by the sudden movement. Their swords clash with a resounding ring, but just as quickly as they met, Hyrule pulls away and swings again. Warriors is forced back a step, and then another as Hyrule gives him no chance to retaliate.

Legend watches the duel from his spot on the sidelines, taking in their movements, their reaction times, their offense and defense. Warriors is powerful, wide slashes and stabs backed up by his strength, movements smooth and fluid, undoubtedly following practiced formations from his days in the army. He’s flexible, quick on his feet with near perfect aim. Warriors is a knight through and through, and it shows in every aspect of his fighting style.

Hyrule, on the other hand, is the opposite. Hyrule is swift strikes and fast movements. He doesn’t aim to weaken via strength, he aims to weaken via energy—or lack thereof. His movements are quick, sudden, wobbly even, but enough to throw off the enemy’s own. Hyrule is a self-taught survivor, who’s only teachers were the same entities trying to kill him.

It’s interesting to see such different fighting styles clashing like this. It’s hard to predict the winner, as one second Hyrule is struggling to avoid an onslaught of slashes from Warriors, and the next Warriors is flailing his sword in an attempt to block Hyrule’s jabs.

He sees Four and Wind place two yellow rupees between them with matching grins, Time tossing a red one into the mix. Twilight and Sky point fingers at the dueling pair, excitedly whispering to each other while Wild listens in. It’s entertaining, _fun_ , and it’s making the group feel more at ease for the first time in a _while._

And looking back at their duelers, Legend’s smirk softens into a smile when he sees how playful and teasing Warriors is, how inquisitive and calm Hyrule is. They dance to the song of their blades, a test of strength turned into a lighthearted game.

_Show him he’s more than some dead man’s curse, that he’s not a walking time bomb._

This is exactly what Twilight meant, and the more Legend watches the two, the more he realizes just how little Hyrule believes in himself. The conclusion Legend came to after hearing Hyrule’s story and seeing him in action is vastly different from the one Hyrule came to.

Twilight catches his eye, winking when Legend meets his gaze.

_Get it now?_ His eyes ask.

_Yes_ , Legend’s smile replies as he looks back to the two dueling heroes once more. _I’m certain this time._

Hyrule sidesteps a stab with a smirk, lashing out with his own only for Warriors to twist away. The captain swings his sword in a wide arc, only to freeze just before it reaches Hyrule’s neck. His eyes flick down, his mouth open in surprise to see Hyrule’s own sword at his neck as well. They stare at each other for a moment, Warriors surprised, Hyrule tensed.

Warriors lowers his sword first, stepping away with a laugh. “Damn, Hyrule, I’ve never seen you fight like that before!”

Hyrule blinks before lowering his own sword and coughing into his fist. “I’ve never had to before now,” He mumbles.

Warriors frowns, going to reply only for Wind to interrupt him with a loud shout.

“A _tie?_ ” He turns and glares at Time, who returns it with a smug smile. “How did you know?”

“You could call it a Father’s Intuition,” Time replies lazily.

“You’re not a dad!”

“Not yet, squirt.”

Twilight coughs into his arm, turning away from a slightly worried Sky and a confused Wild.

But Legend pays their squabbling no mind _,_ instead watching Hyrule smile shyly and rub the back of his neck while Warriors peers at him in scrutiny. Legend stands from his spot and walks over to them.

“What do you mean you’ve never had to fight like that before?” Warriors asks Hyrule as Legend comes to a stop beside him.

“I meant since starting this journey with you guys,” Hyrule replies, scuffing his feet. “I save that for the monsters.”

Warriors and Legend exchange a glance. The monsters? As in the bokoblins and moblins and whatnot? _Those_ monsters? That doesn’t add up.

“The monsters,” Warriors says slowly, sheathing his blade to put his hands on his hips.

Hyrule nods, securing his own sword. “Yeah. Not the ones we’ve been fighting lately, but for the tougher monsters, like daira and geru.”

Daira? Geru? Legend turns to Warriors only to see the captain just as confused as he is. Hyrule raises an eyebrow, eyes flicking between the two of them as he tilts his head.

“You _do_ know what those are, right?” Hyrule asks.

“Nope,” Warriors answers.

“Not a clue,” Legend adds.

Hyrule is the one frowning now, raising a hand to his chin as he murmurs, “How do you not know what those are?”

“Is it possible it just has a different name?” Legend presses, his curiosity taking the lead.

Hyrule perks up. “I didn’t think of that. Uh…” He fumbles for his words for a moment, mouthing something under his breath before he eventually continues, “Geru are like giant lizards?”

“So lizalfos,” Warriors replies, but Hyrule shakes his head.

“No, these are the more bulky ones. They have the armor, the spiky shield, the giant maces that smash your shields apart…” Hyrule lets himself trail off, glancing between them again before adding, “Any of this ringing a bell?”

“No,” Warriors responds, looking uneasy.

“I don’t even have any kind of lizard monsters in my time period,” Legend says, shrugging.

“Wait, none at all?” Hyrule asks in surprise.

“None that _I_ remember at least,” Legend answers. Now that he thinks about it, it’s strange that Hyrule has these kinds of monsters when Legend doesn’t.

“What about daira?” Warriors asks, dragging Legend from his thoughts.

“Daira still look like lizards, but they have longer snouts and axes they like to throw,” Hyrule explains, before he winces. “They’re, uh, really good at aiming.”

Warriors shrugs helplessly, but he still looks rather uneasy—borderline nervous now.

Legend, however, is too busy focusing on the aiming part than on Warriors. “You mean to tell me they threw axes at you?”

Hyrule nods. “That’s how they like to fight. I try to avoid them where I can, but it’s not easy.”

“Just what kind of monsters did you deal with?” Warriors whispers, and it clicks for Legend right then and there.

Geru. Daira. Monsters Legend has never heard of, monsters that _Warriors_ has never heard of. Monsters that throw axes and wield maces that smash through shields. Monsters that _hunt_ Hyrule endlessly across the land during all hours of the day.

Oh.

Oh _shit._

Hyrule hunches his shoulders, eyes flicking over to Legend. Those nervous jitters are back, his walls are shooting back up.

“There’s nothing wrong with that,” Legend says before Hyrule could get too lost in his own head. “We’re just curious.”

“And impressed!” Warriors whistles, all signs of his uneasiness gone in the wake of a smile that’s just a tad bit too wide as he saunters over to Hyrule and claps him on the shoulder. “I’ve never had to deal with monsters like that before. Flying lizards, a couple of times, but not _that._ ”

“I’m just wondering how you got _those_ when I didn’t,” Legend hums, and while he’s not exactly lying, it’s not the only thing he’s wondering about. “No wonder you’re a damn good fighter.”

Hyrule relaxes, smiles even, meanwhile Legend’s stomach roils with nausea. Warriors glances at him while Hyrule isn’t looking, and the nausea only gets worse when he sees the same realization in Warriors’ gaze.

* * *

The next couple of weeks is where the going gets rough. Some days, Hyrule is shy, but at least interacting with the others. His duel with Warriors seems to have helped loosen the grip of anxiety just a little, has shown him that whatever dark thoughts are plaguing his mind aren’t true.

But other days, Hyrule stays glued to Legend’s side, silent and emotionless, and those are the days Legend wraps an arm around his shoulders, tells him that he is okay, holds him when he inevitably breaks down into tears.

There are plenty more skirmishes, too. Legend always tries to stay by Hyrule during those fights, always afraid that Hyrule will just stop fighting. He has once before, and a sword had nearly sliced his head from his shoulders.

Sometimes Legend doesn’t get there in time. Sometimes, Legend sees blood on Hyrule’s hand and knows it’s a bad day. Hyrule always admits to him when he cuts his hand during battle, always ashamed, always guilty, always afraid Legend will turn his back on him, and always relieved when Legend doesn’t.

Some days it’s his hand. Other days it’s his magic and hearing loss. Despite weeks having gone by, Hyrule’s magic has yet to spark back to life, and his hearing loss leaves him disoriented during battle or group conversations. Wild tells him that his poor hearing in his right ear and his deafness in his left ear are likely permanent, much to Hyrule’s distress. They can’t say for certain about his magic.

Tonight is one of those nights. Legend runs a hand through Hyrule’s hair, softly humming a song he had picked up from Lorule’s milk bar while Hyrule sniffles against his shoulder, shaking hands fisted in Legend’s tunic.   
  


He’s grateful they had managed to secure rooms in a village inn tonight. He’s even more grateful the room is only occupying them. He knows the others are often forced to listen to Legend trying to calm Hyrule long enough to get them to some place private, so having a room to themselves has made this infinitely better.

It helps that there are actual blankets.

“I don’t think it’s coming back,” Hyrule mumbles.

Legend pauses in his humming to lightly bump their heads together. “Your magic?”

Hyrule nods, hands tightening in his tunic.

“I don’t think so,” Legend murmurs. “I think it’s just dormant.”

Hyrule lifts his head from Legend’s shoulder to peer at him through reddened eyes. Legend shrugs.

“Think about it. Have you always been able to use magic?”

Hyrule frowns, then hesitantly shakes his head.

“And how did you first learn magic?” Legend presses.

“It was an accident?” Hyrule glances away for a moment, mulling over his next words.

“An accident?”

“I picked up a sword and I swung it and there was a beam.”

Legend chuckles, shaking his head, “Of course you would accidentally discover you have magic. That’s perfect.”

Hyrule huffs out a watery laugh. Legend grins at the noise.

“Well, how about your other spells? I can’t imagine it was that easy too?”

But to Legend’s surprise, Hyrule glances away again, pursing his lips.

Legend gapes. “You’re kidding.”

“It was more like I found a wizard, he told me the spell, and then I just… knew it?”

“You’re a walking prodigy,” Legend states, his grin returning when Hyrule blushes. “I’m serious! None of the others can use magic like you can, and you’re telling me it was just… I dunno, activated? I’m convinced it’s just dormant now.”

“Is it really that impressive?” Hyrule mumbles, eyes wide.

“I would say it’s more than impressive, considering it handed my ass to me,” Legend replies easily.

Hyrule flinches, and Legend kicks himself for being so _stupid._ Goddesses, he just can’t keep his mouth _shut._ Hyrule falters, tensing against Legend, hunching his shoulders, ducking his head—

“Hey,” Legend lowers his head, trying to catch Hyrule’s eye. “Hey, look at me, it’s okay.”

Hyrule shakes his head. “It’s not. I nearly killed you. How is that okay?”

Legend was afraid he would have to have this conversation. Hyrule had yet to bring it up, and Legend wasn’t about to do so himself, but he could tell it was something eating away at the other hero, something that made him not look directly at his sword, something that made him hesitant around Legend when that had never been an issue before.

But now that it’s been addressed, now that it’s floating in the air between them, Legend plans to nip it in the bud.

“You did no such thing,” Legend says, narrowing his eyes into a stern glare. “That wasn’t you.”

“But—“ Hyrule blinks when Legend slaps a hand over his mouth.

“Listen to me,” Legend hisses, “That _was not_ you. That was a poe. You didn’t attack us, the _poe_ did. You didn’t stab me, the _poe_ did.

“And look at what that poe did to _you_. You’re not at fault for this. You didn’t want to hurt us, right?”

Hyrule frantically shakes his head, eyes widening at the mere thought.

“Exactly my point,” Legend continues. “That wasn’t you, understand?”

Hyrule nods, and when Legend removes his hand, Hyrule throws his arms around Legend’s neck, hiding his face once more. His shoulders are shaking, and he can feel fresh tears soaking his tunic.

“I’m sorry,” Hyrule says into his shoulder, and Legend rests his chin on Hyrule’s head, carding his hand through Hyrule’s hair once more.

“It’s okay,” Legend soothes. “You’re okay.”

They sit like that for who knows how long, Legend humming once more, Hyrule letting out all his pain and grief. Eventually, Hyrule stills, and while he’s not asleep, Legend takes comfort in the fact that he’s relaxed, maybe even at peace for the time being.

So naturally, Legend pokes his side and is _delighted_ when Hyrule not only lets out the loudest squeak he has ever heard, but flails his way out of Legend’s hold and right onto the floor.

“Ow…” Hyrule groans.

Legend can’t help the laugh that bursts from him, bubbling up from his chest and into the previously quiet room. He slumps over, peering down at Hyrule.

“Y-you okay?” He says between giggles.

Hyrule glowers at him, sprawled out on the floor, one leg tangled in the sheet he pulled with him. “No thanks to you.”

“Oh come on, that was funny!”

“You suck.”

“Don’t be such a sourpuss!”

Hyrule smiles, letting out a small chuckle of his own. “Who are you and what have you done with Legend?”

“I’m not _that_ bad!”

“Yes you are.”

“Rude!” Legend gasps, putting a hand to his chest. “I’m hurt!”

Hyrule rolls his eyes. “Says the one who didn’t hit his head on the floor.”

Legend reaches down with a hand, grinning when Hyrule takes it and pulls himself back onto Legend’s bed. “I didn’t know you could be so sassy,” Legend comments, his grin turning into a smirk when Hyrule blushes again.

“Ah, well…” Hyrule smiles bashfully, rubbing the back of his neck, and there’s that shyness again, there’s that little spark of happiness, there’s that Hyrule who’s not buried under all those dark thoughts.

And really, that’s all Legend wants at this point. He wants to save the land from this strange shadow, and he wants to make this boy, who has been through hell and back several times over, happy.

“What are we doing tomorrow?” Hyrule mumbles out, words nearly slurring together he says them so fast.

“Why are you changing the subject?” Legend teases.

“Because I’d like to know what we’re doing tomorrow?” Hyrule smiles innocently, his cheeks bright red.

Legend rolls his eyes, but decides to take pity on his friend… this time. “Well, Time wanted to stock up on supplies, so I’m sure we’ll be getting potions tomorrow. That means social interaction and I can’t say I’m looking forward to that.”

“Can we just run into the woods instead?” Hyrule asks hopefully, but Legend shakes his head.

“No, because then someone else would probably take over potion duty, and you remember the last time that happened?”

Hyrule winces, likely remembering the time when Twilight said he knew how to get the best potions for free, and then promptly returned with chu jelly stuffed into their bottles. Wild nearly passed out after immediately chugging one, and Legend wanted nothing more than to smack Twilight over the head with said bottles. He would have, were his bottles not made of glass.

“Okay, you’re right. We should probably stay on potion duty,” Hyrule mutters.

“And knowing Time, he’ll wanna get up at the ass-crack of dawn. So we should probably get _some_ shut-eye,” Legend gripes, reaching down to pull up the sheet from the floor. He feels Hyrule shift on the bed beside him, and when Legend bunches enough of the sheet up to throw it on the bed, it lands directly on Hyrule, who had flopped over and lied down directly behind Legend.

“I’m sleeping here.” Is what Hyrule says when Legend raises an eyebrow.

He really should have expected this. With a shrug, Legend lies down next to him, lips quirking up at the corners when Hyrule immediately burrows closer, latching onto Legend.

“Hey,” Legend whispers into the dark room.

“Hm?” Hyrule hums back.

“It’s gonna get better. I promise.”

Hyrule tightens his hold. Legend lets his eyes fall shut, hoping he doesn’t dream tonight.

The last thing he hears before he slips away into the world of sleep is a mumbled “Thank you.”   
  


* * *

  
“Wait, wait, I thought the potion shop was _that_ way!” Hyrule points to the left as Legend steers them to the right.

“Did you even _look_ at the map?” Legend admonishes, glancing at Hyrule with a raised eyebrow.

“I absolutely looked at the map!” Hyrule snaps back.

“Then you would know the potion shop is on the right side of the village!”

Hyrule blinks. “Wait, lemme look at it again.”

Legend just _stares_ at him. “How did you possibly get lost by looking at the map?”

Hyrule shrugs. “I don’t really use them?”

“Why not? They’re nothing but helpful!”

“They’re unnecessary, and I’ve managed just fine without them!” Hyrule shoots him a cheeky smile. “I don’t need a map to find a shop anyway. I would have found it eventually.”

“What about when you’re on the road?” Legend tries.

“Why follow the beaten path all the time?” Hyrule shoots back. “There’s all sorts of stuff hidden in the places nobody has gone to!”

“You and Wild are going to be the death of me,” Legend groans, shaking his head as Hyrule laughs.

But as they navigate the village, Hyrule’s smile grows strained, he stays as close to Legend as he can without tripping either of them up, his eyes dart around wildly.

“Are you okay?” Legend whispers to him as he hands rupees over to the shop owner. Three bottles filled with red potion are handed to him.

“The noise,” Hyrule replies, raising a hand to his ear with a grimace on his face. “It’s too loud.”

Legend didn’t even _think_ Hyrule’s hearing would be an issue here. With all the sound muffled and going in one ear, the poor kid has to be terribly disoriented by now, if he doesn’t have one hell of a headache.

Legend shoves the bottles into his hands, nodding towards a secluded alley just across the road. “Wait for me over there.”

Legend finishes up how business quickly enough, trading rupees for more health potions alongside some magic-restoring ones for Hyrule. After talking about it last night, Legend feels like investing in a magic potion or two is not a bad investment to make. If Hyrule’s magic does return in a fiery explosion like Legend suspects it will, he would rather be prepared for when Hyrule inevitably collapses from overusing it.

But as he makes his way over to where Hyrule is trying to unsuccessfully fit the red potions in his overstuffed bag, he sees someone slip out of the crowd to follow him from the corner of his eye. Legend keeps walking, pretending not to notice his shadow until he reaches Hyrule.

“Give me that,” Legend mutters, swiping two potions and stuffing them into his bag. He wraps a hand around the handle of his hookshot as he whips around, his glare falling onto the young girl who had followed him.

“What do you want?” Legend demands.

She takes a step back, big eyes widening in surprise, and that’s when it clicks for Legend that it is, indeed, a _young girl._

“I-I’m sorry,” she says, a hand placed on her chest as her eyes flit between him and Hyrule. “It’s just… you look like an experienced traveler is all.”

Legend raises an eyebrow. “And if I am?”

“Ah, well…” the girls scuffs her feet, twirls a lock of black hair around her finger, and she looks so _young_ , no older than Hyrule and with nobody accompanying her. She can’t be a traveler like them, she’s only wearing a long, purple dress and sandals. “I’m a little… lost.” Her eyes flick over to Hyrule again. “I was wondering if you could help me?”

“Sure, kid,” Legend says with a shrug, his hand moving from the hookshot to the map that was haphazardly stuffed into the bag when he reached the potion shop. “Where are you looking to go?” He asks as he unfurls the map and crouches a little so they can look at it together.

But the girl doesn’t look at the map. She turns those wide, red eyes onto Legend, a gleam in them that wasn’t there before. “You’re in my way.”

Legend blinks. “Excuse me?”  
  


But he barely gets the words out when suddenly, purple scales crawl up her arms as a wicked smile nearly splits her face into two. Her pupils turn into slits, fangs grow from her teeth, claws lash at his eyes—

And then there’s dark blood splattering across his face and a distorted _screech_ that leaves his ears ringing. Legend jerks back, his feet slipping out from underneath him. He bumps into something that wasn’t there before, but his eyes are trained on the familiar silver sword embedded in the chest of the girl.

But it isn’t a girl. Legend, to be frank, doesn’t know _what_ it is, but it certainly isn’t a girl. Blood as dark as the night sky oozes from the wound in her chest, staining her purple dress, dripping onto the cobblestone.  
  


A hand falls on his shoulder, startling Legend into a flinch. “We need to leave,” Hyrule hisses into his ear, pulling his sword from the body with a sickening _squelch_. The girl— _monster_ , Legend corrects—falls to the ground, limp, unnaturally still, an amalgamation of a child and a creature out for his blood.

“What…” Legend’s words falter, his mind whirling as it tries to come up with _something_. What the fuck _was_ that? It was like a miniature Blind the Thief, but outside, in the _sunlight._ And it was so believable! It had tricked Legend easily, and had Hyrule not been there he would have—

“We need to _leave_.” Hyrule’s hand moves to his bicep, fingers curling around it to haul Legend to his feet. Legend scrambles to get his legs underneath him, blindly following Hyrule as he tugs them further into the alley. The terrified cries of the villagers fall on ears that aren’t listening as Legend stumbles over his own feet. He hardly remembers the last time he was this shaken, shocked enough that someone else had to get him moving again. He never would have imagined that there would be monsters like Blind the Thief walking around villages, posing as villagers. That creature was so twisted, so unnerving, and Legend really doesn’t like how easily he was played, how much this is affecting him, how he can’t think of anything except how his dead uncle turned into that fucking _monster_ in that twisted temple—

_What kind of god allowed such a creature to exist?_

Hyrule drags him through a maze of alleys, his grip like iron, his breathing erratic, and suddenly Legend realizes that Hyrule _knew._ He _knew_ what that girl was, he _killed_ that thing without a second thought while Legend was caught off guard.

If Hyrule knew what it was before it had managed to land a hit on Legend, then that means he’s encountered one before.

“Hyrule!”

Legend and Hyrule both jerk their heads to the right to see Warriors and Wild running towards them.

“Oh, shit!” Warriors exclaims, his eyes on Legend. “What happened?”

“We _need to leave_ ,” Hyrule snaps, but he’s forced to stop when Warriors grabs his arm. Hyrule tugs against his hold as Wild runs over to Legend, hands hovering over his tunic.

Legend is suddenly reminded of the battle in the thicket all those weeks ago.

“What’s going on, Hyrule?” Warriors demands, grappling with the hero in question to keep him from darting off.

“Are you okay?” Wild asks Legend, who numbly nods in return.

“I’m fine, it’s just…” Legend shakes his head, mouth opening and closing as he attempts to find his words.

“ _We need to leave_!” Hyrule snarls, wild green eyes focused on Legend as he rips himself free from Warriors’ grip. He scrambles back, flinching when his back hits a wall. His breathing is ragged, his hands are shaking, and he’s _scared_ , he’s so scared but he keeps looking at _Legend._

Legend, who’s own hands are shaking, who’s eyes are wide from shock, who can’t figure out what to say for the first time in _years_ , who’s covered in _blood._

_Pull yourself together! You can’t falter here!_

“We were attacked,” Legend finally chokes out, wiping his sleeve across his face in an attempt to dispose of the blood. “A girl walked up to us and she turned into this…” Legend’s hands gesture erratically as he fumbles for _some_ kind of description. “… _thing_ ,” he eventually settles on. “It probably would have killed me had Hyrule not been there.”

“An ache,” Hyrule supplies, confirming what Legend already believed. He looks significantly calmer, though still terribly shaken and still pressed against the wall. “It’s called an ache.”

Warriors and Wild exchange a glance, disturbed, distressed. Legend, however, keeps his eyes on Hyrule.

“It’s one of your monsters, then,” He says.

“Yeah,” Hyrule murmurs back. “And now they know I’m here.”

The girl kept looking at Hyrule, kept speaking to Hyrule. The only time she turned her attention to Legend was to tell him he was in the way. She wanted nothing to do with him, she wanted everything to do with Hyrule.

Because she was hunting him.

“There’s _more_?” Warriors demands, a hand on the hilt of his sword.

“There’s always more,” Hyrule hisses. “Which is why we _need. To. Leave._ ”

Legend turns to Wild. “Did you get everything you wanted?”

“I’ve got enough food to get us by until we can find another town,” Wild replies.

“Then you and Hyrule get out of here,” Legend orders. “Warriors and I will find the others and meet up with you outside the village.”

“Do you know who you’re talking to?” Wild asks, incredulous, and for good reason. “You’re never gonna find us!”

“If _we_ can’t find you, then _they_ can’t find you,” Warriors shoots back. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t find us.”

Legend has to admit, as much as he really doesn’t want to leave Hyrule’s side, but he has no choice right now. Those things are after Hyrule and Hyrule alone, and if they were to give chase, they’d be hopeless in the woodland surrounding the village, especially with Wild accompanying him. Those two are practically one with nature at this point, and anything that comes their way will never lay a finger on them before getting obliterated.

“But…” Hyrule looks almost pained at the idea. “Legend, you’re covered in blood. They’ll come after you too.”

“All the more reason for me to go with Warriors. It’ll be easier to get the others out,” Legend says. When Hyrule doesn’t look any less nervous, Legend steps over to him.

“I’m okay,” he murmurs, and Hyrule nods.

“You’re okay.”

“We’ll grab the others, and then you and Wild will get us out of here,” Legend explains, smiling when Hyrule nods again.

“Just please be careful,” Hyrule pleads. “Because they’re not going to stop.”

“I’m not the one they’re hunting,” Legend points out. “I’ll be fine. It’ll be over before you know it.”

Legend hands him the potions he snatched, taking the opportunity to brush their hands together, to reinforce the fact that he is _alive_ and that he’s going to come back.

All too soon, Legend and Warriors are running back into the midst of the panicking village while Hyrule and Wild dart away into the shadows. As Legend and Warriors navigate the crowd, he can feel Warriors’ eyes burning into the back of his head, unspoken questions louder than the crowd will ever be.

Meanwhile, Hyrule and Wild duck under low branches and jump over thick roots, following a path invisible to everyone but them. They don’t go too far into the forest, only far enough to completely obscure the village and deafen the sound. Only then, does Wild round on him.

“You’re being _hunted_?”

“Is now _really_ the time for this?” Hyrule gasps, his heart pounding in his ears as he tries to suck in enough breath to satisfy his body. He hopes Legend and Warriors are okay, that the _others_ are okay, that he’s not just leaving them to be massacred by any of the _other_ monsters that must be lurking nearby—

“I don’t know when I’m going to be able to talk to you without anyone else listening in, so yes!” Wild snaps back. Hands grip his shoulders, shove him against a tree, and hardened azure eyes bore into his own. “Breathe with me.”

Hyrule gasps. “B-but— I—“

“ _Breathe_ _with me_ ,” Wild demands, taking a deep, slow breath for emphasis. When Hyrule struggles to match his pace, Wild grabs one of his hands and presses it against his chest, letting Hyrule get a feel for how the air pushes his chest out, forcing Hyrule to focus on mimicking Wild. It feels like hours later when his lightheadedness finally fades, when his stuttering heart calms into its regular pattern.

“Better?”

“Better,” Hyrule wheezes, blinking black spots out of his vision. Wild nods, pulling back and letting Hyrule reorient himself. He doesn’t let go of Hyrule’s hand, to which he is grateful for.

“What can you tell me about those… you called them aches?” Wild asks him, and Hyrule nods in confirmation.

“They’re exactly what Legend said,” Hyrule replies. “They disguise themselves as people and infiltrate a village. They change back into their normal forms when you’re caught off guard and will attack you. Where there’s one, there’s a swarm.”

“And they hunt you?” Wild presses, and Hyrule lets out a bitter laugh.

“I’m always being hunted, Wild. Surely you understand?”

“But _why_ are they hunting you?” That gives Hyrule pause. On one hand, Wild is the only other hero among their companions that truly knows what it’s like to be hunted. However, Wild merely sees his opponents as nuisances, and his opponents aren’t all surface-dwelling monsters, but rather a decently big group of people. He called them Yiga, called them traitors to the crown.

Wild is simply their enemy, not the key to their master’s resurrection.

But Hyrule can’t just ignore him. Wild is watching him expectantly, concerned yet defiant, rarely afraid to speak his own mind while Hyrule falters at every other word.

Hyrule decides to take a page out of Wild’s book. “They need me to resurrect their dead leader,” He says, not giving himself time to hesitate. “I killed Ganon and saved my princess, and now every monster wants my head on a stick and my blood poured on his ashes.

“And no,” Hyrule snaps before Wild could get a word in, “they aren’t after you or any of the others, only _me,_ and that’s why we need to leave right now, because they will go through you just to get to me.”

The image of the ache’s claws lashing out at Legend’s face sends a chill down Hyrule’s spine. He was lucky, oh so lucky, that the ache had been a weaker variation. Had it been a stronger variation, a stab to the chest wouldn’t have downed it, and Legend would likely be dead.

Wild blinks, stares with his mouth slightly open in shock, blinks again, and then jabs a finger at Hyrule.

“You have a _lot_ of explaining to do when we get out of this mess,” Is all he says before he walks over to the tree and begins climbing it. He beckons for Hyrule to follow.

* * *

  
Getting the others out of the village is a stressful but painless task.

“No, no, there’s _one_ injury,” Warriors reports, jabbing a thumb in Sky’s direction.

“Wind put his full weight on my pinky toe and I’m pretty sure it’s broken,” Sky whines.

“First of all, quit whining!” Wind shouts from across the campsite. “And second of all, _you_ try not freaking the fuck out when _somebody_ shows up outta nowhere covered in blood!”

“Sorry,” Legend mumbles, his cheeks flushed red in embarrassment.

Well… _almost_ painless.

Nevertheless, the aches did not pursue them, and the people remained unharmed. It was easy to find the seven other heroes from the high branches of the tree he and Wild had climbed, and as soon as Hyrule had spotted them, Wild let out a piercing whistle that lead the group to them.

It was the evening that was the difficult part.

Wild kept good on his statement from earlier; he plops down beside Hyrule while Twilight and Legend patrol, and Hyrule is sure Wild set them up so Legend would be out of his hair.

Hyrule doesn’t blame him. Legend is rather… overbearing at times. He has only the best intentions, but it’s hard to not feel a little smothered sometimes. And yet despite that, knowing Legend is out of earshot has his hands in a slight tremor, has his heart beating just a little too quick.

Wild puts a hand on his shoulder, giving him a small smile when Hyrule turns his way.

While in the tree with Wild, searching for their companions and hoping they remained unharmed, Hyrule realized that maybe keeping quiet about his monsters, his whole story, will only put everyone in more danger than it’s worth. And after everything Hyrule has put them through, he would rather avoid causing more problems.

Before Wild can even speak, Hyrule raises his chin, turns his eyes to where the others are mingling, and tells them that he needs to talk to them. It’s daunting having all their eyes on him, but Wild’s hand on his shoulder is grounding, reminding him that these people are his friends, friends that will support him, friends that have his back no matter what.

He doesn’t tell them everything he told Legend that morning on the cliff. He doesn’t want a pity party, and he doesn’t want to completely expose himself, he merely wants to make sure he doesn’t jeopardize them again.

But as he keeps telling them about his adventures, he sees Warriors growing more and more nervous, borderline upset. He sees Sky and Time exchange a glance, matching frowns on their faces. Wind looks to be in awe, eyes wide and mouth open in a gape, while Wild watches him carefully, his hand never leaving Hyrule’s shoulder.

Four, however, looks _guilty_.

Hyrule’s not sure why Four would be feeling guilty of all things, it’s not like _he_ was behind all of the griefs of Hyrule’s time period.

Legend and Twilight come back just as Hyrule is finishing, and Legend looks _furious_ , ready to storm in and give them a piece of his mind, though Hyrule isn’t sure why. Twilight, however, grabs his arm, murmurs something in his ear, and then Legend’s eyes meet Hyrule’s.

_Okay?_ They ask.

_Okay._ Hyrule’s reply.

Twilight lets Legend go, and the two sit down at the edge of the campsite to hear the tail end of Hyrule’s story.

Hyrule can’t say he was expecting the reactions he got. He wasn’t sure _what_ they were going to do, but he didn’t think Wind would badger him about the Triforce of Wisdom of all things. He didn’t think Time and Sky would ask about Ganon and the curse he placed on Hyrule. He didn’t think Wild would ask him if Ganon was a monster or a person and then point a finger at Twilight and yell “I told you so!”

They’re genuinely curious about his adventures, about _him_ , and despite the danger he’s putting them all in, they have nothing but inquiries and praise. It makes Hyrule realize that they care, that he’s one of them, and it’s like a wave of relief that washes away all the guilt, all the fear, until he feels… calm.

He misses the way Four tugs on Warriors’ sleeve and gives him a small yet pleading look. He misses the way Warriors tilts his head in the direction of the woods surrounding their campsite. He misses the way they both stand and slip out of the clearing, darting into the shadows.

But Legend doesn’t.

* * *

  
Hyrule never thought his state of mind would ever flourish once he realized the consequences of killing Ganon.

Granted, the thought never even crossed his mind, but Hyrule always thought he would forever be trapped within his own head, worrying and worrying until he met his bloody end.

But meeting the others has changed his way of thinking for the better, has changed _Hyrule_ for the better. Now, Hyrule has more to fight for, more to _live_ for. He no longer feels the need to disappear because of him being a liability, but rather the need to become _better_ so he’s no longer a liability.

And the first step is relearning how to process sound while using his other senses.

Warriors and Wild are all too happy to help him with this, with Warriors able to pick out specific noises amidst a barrage of sound, and Wild constantly listening for every little noise to ensure his safety.

Today, Warriors is with him. They left the campsite just as the sun was peeking over the horizon—much to Hyrule’s annoyance, as he happens to _like_ sleeping—and made their way into the surrounding woodland. Snow crunches under his feet as he shifts in place, the air nipping his skin as he strains his ears for Warriors’ footsteps. He keeps his eyes closed and his breathing even, keeping track of how faint or clear the snow is under Warriors’ feet, if he can hear the other hero breathing or the shift of his clothing as he walks.

When Warriors stops, Hyrule waits a moment, thinking of the landmarks they assigned for the task, mentally mapping out the small area—

“You’re next to the pine tree with the bear claw-marks in it,” Hyrule states. He hears Warriors let out a chuckle.

“Close,” He replies, and when Hyrule opens his eyes, he sees the captain standing by the log just a couple feet away from the tree with the claw-marks.

Hyrule mutters a curse under his breath. He thought he had it for sure this time, but he was way off! He must be pouting, because Warriors marches over to him and ruffles his hair.

“You’re getting a lot better,” he points out with a small smile. “And quickly, too.”

“But I _need_ to be good, at the very least,” Hyrule grumbles back, only to squawk when Warriors wraps an arm around his neck and squishes Hyrule against him, the ruffling turning into a full-blown noogie.

“You’ll be _great_ in the next couple of weeks!” Warriors laughs as Hyrule bats at his arms in a vain attempt to wriggle away.

“Lemme go!” he yells, but Warriors continues to laugh, swaying them from side to side.

“Not until you admit you’re doing great,” Warriors sings back. “C’mon, say it with me!”

“You’re _insufferable!_ ”

“That’s not what I said at all! Come on, try again!”

“Warriors—“

“Nope! We’re talking about _you_! Honestly, you are terrible at this.”

Hyrule snorts at that, pausing in his struggling to let out a small chuckle of his own. Warriors grins down at him, a playful gleam in his eyes.

Their antics are cut short by a distant yet piercing horn, and Hyrule’s blood runs cold at the sound.

“Shit,” Warriors hisses, letting Hyrule go in favor of grabbing their swords. They rush back to the campsite, their boots kicking up clumps of snow, and as they draw closer, they hear the sounds of fighting growing louder and louder. They burst through the last line of trees and see a group of bokoblins in multiple colors interlocked in battle with their companions.

“Hey!” Sky calls as Warriors leaps into battle to assist a struggling Twilight with two black bokoblins. Hyrule springs forward and stabs the blue bokoblin Sky was fighting in the back, kicking it off his sword as Sky nods in thanks.

“We’re holding our own pretty well, but Four got separated from us,” Sky explains through heavy breaths. “You’re the best at navigating forests! He’s being chased by two silvers!” He jabs a finger in a seemingly random direction, and Hyrule takes off without another word, ignoring the branches that scratch at his arms and the bushes that claw at his feet. He follows the footprints and broken branches in the snow, his heart only beating faster and faster when he spots little drops of blood.  
  


He bursts through one last group of bushes to find the two silver bokoblins and Four standing on a ledge. Four looks haggard, his sword and arm bloody, his tunic ripped and frayed, cornered at the ledge between the two monsters. One of the silver ones has several cuts while the other is unscathed.

Four meets his gaze, eyes wide as he heaves to catch his breath. Hyrule points at the injured bokoblin, and when Four nods, they charge it with their swords. The bokoblin raises its bat, swiping it at Four, but he ducks underneath just as Hyrule swings his sword at its neck, lobbing its head clean off its shoulders. The other bokoblin charges them while Four’s back is turned, but the smaller hero twists away just before it could hit him with its bat. Hyrule stabs forward, but the bokoblin jumps back before his sword could connect. Four darts around him, sword slicing through the air, aiming for its neck, but the bokoblin lashes out with its bat first and before Hyrule can do anything, it connects with Four’s head and sends him crumpling to the ground.

Hyrule feels a spike of _fury_ at the sight, rushing towards the bokoblin with his sword raised. His mouth is moving on its own accord, his mind not even registering the words. He only cares about swinging his sword, about the flames erupting from the blade, about the fearful squeals the monster lets out. Flames consume its flesh, turning silver to charred grey and red, and it falls off the ledge while desperately patting itself in a vain attempt to put out the flames.

And Hyrule gapes, because his sword is surrounded in flames, flames that _he_ procured without a second thought. His veins hum with the buzz of magic, and while its faint and exhausted instead of nearly overflowing, it’s _magic_.

A lump forms in his throat. He thought he had lost this ability forever, he thought he would never get rid of the emptiness within his chest, but all it took was—

_Four!_

Hyrule whips around to see the other hero still lying in the snow, limp and unmoving. Hyrule scurries over to him, falling to his knees and grabbing at his small form. There’s blood matted in his hair but his chest still moves as he breathes in and out, and Hyrule is ready to cry in relief at both Four’s state and his magic returning to him.

He doesn’t get the chance to shed even a single before he hears a loud _crack._

Hyrule’s heart _drops_ as the ground crumbles away, snow and rock alike sweeping him and Four off the side of the mountain they’re on and toward the streaming waters below—

_Oh fuck!_

Hyrule cries out, an arm wrapped around Four’s body, his feet and his free hand scrabbling against the rock and snow falling around them for any kind of hold to halt their fall. Pain explodes in the back of his head once, twice, and then Hyrule loses count as he curls around Four and shields him from the onslaught of rolling stones.

Whatever god is watching over them was feeling merciful. Hyrule is battered and bruised heavily from the rocks and snow, but the same pile of rocks and snow fill up the river below, so while the two heroes land on sharp and hard points, they only end up halfway-submerged in the icy cold waters, and Hyrule is quick to scramble out of them in fear of the current whisking them away to a watery death.

He expects to feel burning, he expects the water to be acidic and eat away at his skin like the waters back in his time period, but instead it feels as if ice has settled within his very bones, shocking the air from his lungs. Hyrule heaves for breath as he drags Four out of the water, clinging to the slippery rocks with trembling fingers, ignoring the white-hot pain in his ankle.

Four is still unconscious, but his skin is turning pale, his lips nearly blue, and his tiny body is shivering. He’s so thin, and wearing clothes that are thoroughly soaked will only chill him even further until he freezes to death.

So Hyrule wraps his arms around his friend, tries to maintain the little heat left, and calls for the others, hoping at least one of them is close enough to hear his trembling voice. Trapped between a sheer mountain and ice cold water, with Four unconscious and freezing while Hyrule’s ankle sends lightning shocks of pain through his body with every movement and his faint magic already exhausted, Hyrule doesn’t know what else he can do except trust that the others truly have his back.

He’s sure a sob slips from his throat when he hears Wild’s voice, and he’s absolutely certain that the warmth on his cheeks are actually tears when he looks up and sees the tiny form of Wild looking down at them. He disappears moments later, and Hyrule nearly cries for him to come back, to not leave leave them like this, but then Wind’s grappling hook is flying over the edge and down the pile of rocks and snow to land on Hyrule’s shoulder.

There’s not enough rope to wrap around the both of them, so Hyrule wraps what he can around Four and then tugs on the rope. It’s a slow process, and Hyrule doesn’t like how limp Four’s body is, but soon enough, his body disappears over the edge of the mountain and the rope comes flying back down for him.

Hyrule ends up having to bunch his sleeve up into a makeshift gag to bite down on, as every little movement has him nearly yelling in pain thanks to his ankle. It’s probably broken, which means he won’t be able to walk very well for the next coming weeks.

Warriors is the one to haul him up the rest of the way, arms tugging him close to the captain as he unravels the rope. His ankle is nudged and Hyrule has to muffle his cry into Warriors’ shoulder as his vision turns white for a split second.

“It’s okay,” Warriors soothes as hands shove a bottle into his own. “It’s okay.”

The potion doesn’t fix his ankle, but it does numb it enough for Hyrule to move it without _too_ much pain. The pounding in his head subsides to a dull throb that makes his eyes heavy, his thoughts sluggish.

A hand lightly slaps his cheek. “Don’t fall asleep,” Wild’s voice orders.

Hands tug at his clothes, lift him up and off of Warriors long enough to steal his tunic and undershirt, and Hyrule whines at the chilly air against his skin, but all too soon a larger and baggier tunic is wrapped around his trembling form, and then a long cloth wrapped around that, and a second cloth wrapped around _that_ , until he’s basically swaddled.

But when he sees Four bundled up in Twilight’s fur hood and still shivering, no amount of clothing stops him from wriggling over to the other hero. Warriors and Wild certainly try, but when they see where he’s going, they simply help him along, even tugging off Sky’s sail cloth so Hyrule can burrow into the fur hood alongside Four, who immediately latches onto him and _clings_. Hyrule blinks his weariness away, focuses on the cold body against him, focuses on how Four’s shoulders aren’t just shaking from the cold.

“I haven’t been fair to you,” Four whimpers against Hyrule’s chest. “I haven’t been fair to you and I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”

Hyrule wraps his arms around the smaller hero, tugging Twilight’s fur hood tighter around them to trap any warmth he can. He’s not even in his soaked clothes anymore and yet he’s like ice against Hyrule.

“What are you talking about, Four?” Hyrule asks, readjusting them so Four is comfortably nestled in his lap. He runs his hands up and down Four’s arms, hoping to warm him up quicker.

“The Earth Temple,” Four chokes out, and Hyrule freezes. “Ever since you got possessed, I… I…”

“Hey, hey,” Hyrule soothes, lighting bumping their heads together. Is he doing this right? He really hopes he’s doing this right. “It’s not your fault, okay? It’s mine.”

“You idiot,” Four laughs bitterly. “You actually think I blame _you_? What gave you _that_ idea?”

Hyrule says nothing. Why _wouldn’t_ he have that idea? He was the one who hurt Four, he was the one who scaredFour, he was the one who nearly killed Four. If Hyrule were in his shoes, he’d be afraid of himself too.

(In a way, he _is_ afraid of himself, afraid of what he would do if he lost control over himself again, afraid of what horrors his mind could conjure up at night, afraid of what will happen when he inevitably has to return to his own time period.)

“You saved my life,” Four murmurs in the space between them. “Even after I’ve been avoiding you, you still risked everything for me, and I’m sorry I haven’t been a good friend. I know that wasn’t you that day, but I just couldn’t… I couldn’t…”

Hyrule hugs him tighter, feeling tears prick at the corners of his eyes. Four clings to him, shivering and sniffling and _fragile_ , and Hyrule is so afraid of hurting him more, of causing his friend more strife when he’s already gone through so much.

“I’m sorry Four,” Hyrule chokes out, and Four lets out a watery chuckle.

“I’m supposed to be the one apologizing.”

But Hyrule shakes his head, holding him as tightly as he can while still being gentle. They stay there as the others keep watch, sharing their warmth, rekindling a forgotten bond, the outside world forgotten from within the fur hood.

* * *

  
Hyrule’s magic steadily recovers throughout their journey. With his magic as weak as it was when he learned his first spell, casting Fire even once had left him dizzy and delirious. The others thought he had a concussion until they found the scorch marks in the ground.

But as time went on, Hyrule’s magic built up and up and up, spells becoming easier to cast once again. It proves to be a useful asset, even if he’s weakened after so much use.

And they find a balance with it. The others rely on his unique abilities while he relies on their protection should he push himself too hard, and when he realizes how easily they all fall into this pattern, he can’t help but wonder how he could have ever thought he wasn’t one of them before. Warriors is always ready to throw him in as their glorified trump card, while Wild is his partner in crime. Four is the one who discovers all the little nooks and crannies alongside him while Legend is the one who helps him find a solution to the various obstacles in their way.

They piece together like a puzzle, each their own unique section of a greater picture. As they learn and grow together, the threat to all their time periods is beaten back and back and _back_ until finally, it’s _gone_.

And now, Hyrule stands before a portal, shoulders tense, hands curled into fists. The portal is innocent enough, a light blue color instead of a dark, murky purple like before; a portal created by the gods instead of an entity born from the shadows.

He supposes it makes sense that this portal is from the gods themselves, seeing as how the threat to all their time periods was destroyed completely and utterly. They have to go home somehow, right?

And that’s just it. The threat is _gone._ They destroyed it. There’s no reason for everyone to be together anymore. Now they go home and resume the lives they had before this crazy and, frankly, bizarre adventure started. Now they say their bittersweet goodbyes and step through their respective portals.

Time goes on a long spiel of how proud he is of them, how grateful he is to have had the opportunity to meet them. Sky nearly hugs the life out of everyone while Twilight gave half-hugs and pats. Wind starts sobbing halfway through it all, and everyone decided a group hug was only fitting before they would depart. Touches linger, gazes are held for moments longer than they should have been, every word has a bittersweet undertone to it.

Wild is the first to to step through his portal, waving goodbye as it closes, and Hyrule knows he will never see the other hero again.

One by one, the others stepped into the blue light, calling out last goodbyes or goofy phrases before they were cut off from each other by the laws of time itself, and now Hyrule remains, standing in front of his portal.

He knew this adventure wouldn’t last forever, but some selfish part of him wishes it had. He wishes he was stuck traveling through different time periods for the rest of his life with these other heroes he’s grown to know and love. Now that it’s over, now that he has no other place to go but back to his own time period, Hyrule realizes how much he truly doesn’t want to go back to the life he had.

That life nearly killed him. That life took everything he was and ripped it to shreds. That life left Hyrule weak, broken, hateful.

But there’s no other option.

So Hyrule takes a deep breath, prepares himself to find any kind of parchment and write down everything he’s learned so when he inevitably falls back into the depths of self-loathing, he can remember what his friends taught him, that his friends proved he wasn’t a bad omen.

He takes one step towards his portal before a hand grabs his own.

“Hey,” Legend murmurs, and Hyrule whips around to face him.

“I thought you left,” Hyrule blurts out. Legend had been oddly silent during this whole ordeal, and while he returned the affections equally, Hyrule thought the other hero would have gone through the portal as soon as he could have, to cut the ties quickly and efficiently before he could regret sticking around.

Or at least, that’s what Legend said he would do.

And yet he’s still here, the only other remaining hero still out of their time.

“Without a proper goodbye?” Legend chuckles weakly, his hand tightening around Hyrule’s. “As if. I thought you knew me better than that.”

“Come now,” Hyrule says, rolling his eyes with a small smile. “You yourself said you would rather get the goodbyes done and over with.”

“About that…” Legend’s eyes flick to the portal before Hyrule, undoubtedly seeing the outline of the shoddy castle in its depths. “Are you ready to go back?”

Hyrule wants to say yes, that he _is_ ready, that he can go back and live a happy life like the others want him to.

But it’s simply not true.

Hyrule wants nothing more than to _never_ go back. There’s nothing there for him. His people look upon him with nothing but scorn and hatred, and the princesses he saved only want to use him for their own benefits. The monsters actively hunt him day and night, endlessly, and there is no one place he can call home. He’s an outsider to his own time period, a walking time bomb before he dooms his people to the return of Ganon.

So Hyrule shakes his head, meets Legend’s gaze evenly as he says, “No. I don’t think I’ll ever be ready.”

He expects Legend to offer advice, to reassure him that he will be okay with or without the others there. But to his surprise, Legend only lets out a hum, eyes narrowed and a thoughtful look on his face.

“What about you?” Hyrule asks, and Legend smiles.

“Not quite,” he answers. “I’m missing something.”

And then he’s pulling on Hyrule’s hand, tugging him away from his portal, and Hyrule stumbles after him with a surprised squawk. Legend laughs at his surprise, of course he does, but keeps up the quick pace until they’re standing in front of Legend’s portal. Through it, Hyrule can see the outline of his house.

Legend turns to him, standing between the portal and Hyrule, their hands still clasped together. He looks almost ethereal with the blue portal outlining his form, his pale blue eyes seemingly glowing in the light.

“What if you didn’t go back?” Legend asks him, his voice soft, hesitant, hopeful. He almost sounds like he’s nervous. “What if instead, you and I stick together?”

“You…” Hyrule trails off, his words clicking into place. Legend wants to stay with him? Is he suggesting that Hyrule goes with him into his own time period? Permanently? A spark of hope lights in his chest at the thought.

Legend nods in response to his unspoken question, a small yet warm smile on his face. “Truth be told, I really don’t want to see you go. I… I don’t think I can handle losing everyone. So, what do you say? Do you want to come with me?”

Hyrule opens his mouth to say _Absolutely! This is all I could ever ask for!_

But then he pauses as other thoughts enter his mind.

“Would I even be able to?” Hyrule asks instead, worry creeping in at the potential consequences.

“Why _wouldn’t_ you be able to?” Legend shoots back, gesturing at the space between them with a hand. “Surely we’ve done stranger things on our own adventures before. And now this one!”

“But we’re talking about meddling with time,” Hyrule points out.

“Were you even here for this adventure? I’m sure we’ve caused a million paradoxes in the last five minutes alone. I’m starting to think you don’t wanna come,” Legend teases, but Hyrule can see his strained smile, can feel the way his hand clenches around his. Hyrule raises his free hand to clasp Legend’s hand between his own.

“That’s not what I’m saying,” He murmurs. “That’s not what I’m saying at all. I want nothing more than to go with you, but I’m worried doing something like this will permanently disrupt the flow of time.”

Legend _smirks._ “Well, there’s only one way to find out if that will happen.”

He takes a step back, tugging Hyrule along as he goes. He steps through the portal while still looking at Hyrule, and for a second Hyrule thinks Legend is just going to yank him through, gods be damned, but then he stops. Legend stands on one side of the rift, tinted blue but still visible, while Hyrule stands on the other, their hands meeting in the middle. His fingers are just past the rift, the magic cool and soothing against his skin.

“Don’t you think the gods would have stopped you from traversing this portal if your presence in my time period would disrupt reality?” Legend asks.

“I…” Hyrule honestly doesn’t know what to say. Legend makes a good point; the gods themselves had to have opened these portals, right? If they didn’t want Hyrule to go through one not meant for him, they would have made it impossible for even an inch of his body to go through. But here he is.

“Do you want to come with me?” Legend asks him once more.

Hyrule thinks about a lot of things in that moment. He thinks about Ganon’s curse and how it would be reduced to nothing but a bad memory if he were to follow Legend. He thinks about how for the first time in years, he wouldn’t be hunted by endless waves of monsters. He thinks about how his name would fade from the minds of the people until he either becomes a fable or is forgotten by the world. He thinks about how much he has changed during this adventure. He thinks about how happy he has been since he met the others that fateful day when he stepped through the first portal. He thinks about how Legend stuck with him through thick and thin without batting an eye.

He thinks about that morning on the cliff, where Legend asked him if he wanted help, where Legend stopped him from making a drastic mistake.

_You’re a person before you’re a hero. What do **you** want?_

He knew what he wanted long before he asked himself that question.

“Yes,” Hyrule answers, and Legend’s smile blooms into a beam.

“Then hurry up! We don’t have all day!”

Hyrule doesn’t even look back as he takes those last few steps forward, his hand clenching around Legend’s in fear that he will just disappear if he lets go. The magic washes over him like water, pulling him closer to Legend as if giving him a personal welcome, as if telling him this was exactly what he needed to do.

Hyrule steps into warm sunlight, steps into a soft breeze that’s both familiar yet foreign, steps into a comforting embrace as Legend laughs and laughs and _laughs._

Hyrule returns the embrace, unable and unwilling to stop the smile from spreading across his face, to stop his own laughs from bubbling from his lips. He doesn’t remember the last time he felt this happy, this excited, this _safe._

“Welcome home, kid,” Legend says against Hyrule’s ear, his arms tight around his shoulders as they sway with the wind. “Welcome home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y’know, this took half a year, but this was such a fun project.   
> Thank you guys for being patient with me, and for encouraging me to keep going. And a special thank you to all the wonderful friends I recruited (read: basically threw the fic in their faces) for helping me with this.  
> I hope you enjoyed!


End file.
